CHARITY

The Bubba Moore Memorial Group board members recently presented a $10,000 donation to Health For All, a nonprofit community-supported, volunteer-based group that provides free primary medical care to uninsured, low-income Brazos Valley residents.

The memorial group works to help local financially disadvantaged residents in need of expenses during a medical crisis.

It was formed in dedication to William Fowler "Bubba" Moore, who died in 2004.

Since 2005, the group has donated more than $75,000 to local groups, including Hospice Brazos Valley, Phoebe's Home, Scotty's House and to individuals in need.

The memorial group will also host its Fifth Annual Friends of Bubba Golf Tournament fundraiser at Pecan Lakes Golf Course in Navasota on Oct. 17.

The group is seeking prizes, hole sponsors, donations of food or other items, as well as teams to play in the tournament. Donations are tax deductible.

For more information, contact Derek Dictson at 575-4496 or ED@hlth4all.org.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

Waldenbrooke Estates, along with numerous sponsors, recently hosted an event for family, friends and colleagues to honor Dr. James F. Cooper for his distinguished service to the community.

COLLEGE STATION POLICE

Earlier this month, the College Station Police Department promoted six officers -- three to sergeant and three to lieutenant.

The four men and two women began their new assignments Monday.

Detective James Arnold was promoted to sergeant. He has been with the department since 2002 and is a graduate of Texas A&M University and a native of Texarkana, Texas.

Since 2005, he's served on the SWAT team, and he now serves as a day shift patrol sergeant.

Master Officer Paul Brown also was promoted to patrol sergeant and will be working on the day shift.

Brown has been an officer in College Station since 2000. He's a 1994 graduate of Sul Ross University and also serves as an instructor for the International Police Mountain Bike Association.

Master Officer Charles Fleeger has been with the department since 1989, where he began work after serving in the U.S. Army. He was promoted to the position of sergeant and will be working in the Criminal Investigations Division.

Fleeger's a College Station native, having graduated from both A&M Consolidated High School and Texas A&M.

He was first promoted to sergeant in 1995 before retiring from the department in 2006. When he returned in 2008, it was with the title of master sergeant.

He also has served as chairman of the Amber Alert Network Brazos Valley since 2003.

Sgt. Lesley Hicks was promoted to lieutenant and will be working as commander of the Criminal Investigations Division.

She started with the department in 1991 and graduated from Texas A&M in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in management information systems. She served as the department's Accreditation Manager during four recertification processes, helping the department to earn it's flagship status for the communication division.

Sgt. Billy Couch was promoted to lieutenant and will serve as the night shift patrol commander. Couch has worked for the department since 1997 and is a Bryan native. He currently serves as the SWAT team leader. He graduated from Texas A&M in 2006.

Sgt. Brandy Norris has been with the department since 1997 and was promoted to serve as a lieutenant and the Internal Affairs Commander.

She graduated from Texas A&M in 1996 with a degree in sociology, and is an adjunct instructor with the Texas Engineering Extension Service specializing in basic criminal investigations and child abuse investigations.

HIGHER EDUCATION

St. Norbert College of De Pere, Wis., recently held its spring commencement, awarding 438 baccalaureate degrees and five master's degrees.

Emily Christine Sherman of College Station earned her bachelor of arts degree from the school.

FFA

The Bryan, Rudder and A&M Consolidated high schools' FFA chapters received the prestigious Gold Emblem rating at the 81st annual FFA Convention recently.

The rating is given to the top 10 percent of FFA chapters in the state and Gold Emblem chapters advance to the national level to be judged for a national rating. Consol's chapter was ranked 12th out of 75.

Rudder's FFA chapter received a permanent charter at the end of its inaugural year. The year-long process required students to establish a constitution, bylaws and advisory committee.

Rudder students attending: Katelyn McDonald, Kirsten Krause, Andrea Earwood, David Wilganowski, Kelby Cullen and David Mejia.

Earwood was one of 35 members from across the state chosen as a Foundation Ambassador, who serve as the liason to sponsors, special guest and dignitaries on behalf of the Texas FFA.

Bryan High students attending: Lizzi Alderete, Andi Miller, Stephanie Alvarado, Katie Stroud, Waylon Weston, Wyatt Weston, Kyle Moore, Nicole Kuder, Heather Hoelscher, Nick Braaton, Justin Powell and Chelsea Adams.

Consol students who attended: Colton Hanson, Jacob Brown, Christine Phillips, Brianna Hubbard, Shelby McIntyre, Mitch Isbell, Kaitlin Raley, Robby Smith, Victoria Pilger, Calli McIntyre and Julie Welsh.

Brown and Shelby McIntyre were awarded Lone Star FFA degrees at the conference -- the highest degree bestowed by the state FFA. The Lone Star recognizes members' agricultural awareness, leadership, career development and involvement in the FFA. They were among 1,350 members from across the state who received the degree.

Six Consol FFA students also participated in the Texas FFA Agriscience Fair at the annual convention. David Rooney placed second in zoology; Calli McIntyre won third in food science/microbiology; Pilger placed third in botany; Brown placed third in the zoology category.

Team members Raley and Welsh also participated in the food science/microbiology competition.

Brown represented Area III as Star Lone Star in Agriscience and Pilger represented the area as Star Chapter Farmer in Production. FFA Stars are chosen based on outstanding supervised agriculture experience programs.

AREA SCHOOLS

* Bryan High School student Emma Foster recently returned from Baltimore, where she attended a People to People Leadership Summit on Medicine.

Foster, along with fellow delegates from around the world, focused on leadership, team-building, community service, college admissions and professional aspirations at Johns Hopkins University during a weeklong program.

Foster, a sophomore, was nominated by a Hammond-Oliver teacher based on her academic performance, leadership and desire to explore education outside the classroom.

* Navasota High School junior Chessa Gesch was selected to participate in the Elite 100 Student Leadership Conference this summer.

The conference was hosted by the UIL at The University of Texas.

Gesch, an active participant at UIL activities in Navasota, was a member of a committee which presented ideas for improvement to the UIL Legislative Council.

Gesch's group suggested adding new activities including art competitions, hands-on construction and community service design competitions.

* Eight A&M Consolidated High School students qualified for the recent National Business Professionals of America Conference.

Qualifiers to the conference, "Blazing New Trails," are: Seth Carstens, Ali El-Halwagi, Robby Nevels, Pranitha Patil, Allison Pearce, Kelsey Redman, Alok Vaid-Menon and Diana Wang.

The following students won awards: Patil placed third in Fundamental Spreadsheet Applications; Nevels, Vaid-Menon and Carstens placed first in software engineering team competition.

* A Navasota High School senior broadened her horizons this summer -- all the way to China. Eliza Trujillo spent four weeks in Shanghai, Beijing and at Yunnan University in China as part of the Hanban Chinese Bridge Summer Camp for High School Students as coordinated through the Confucius Institute at the University of Oklahoma.

The institute is part of a global network of more than 120 Confucius Institutes in 50 countries (including Texas A&M University) for the promotion and development of Chinese language education as well as cultural and business exchange with the People's Republic of China.

Trujillo went through a competitive application process which included essays about what she hoped to learn in China, why such a trip is important and her personal experiences as they relate to work and family. Trujillo also took part in Navasota High's Mandarin Chinese language distance course offered for the first time in 2008-09 in partnership with Texas A&M, the Confucius Institute and Region VI Education Service Center.

Two other Navasota school district representatives traveled to China for one week this summer as part of the Chinese Bridge Delegation to China program. School Board member Marilyn Bettes and high school principal Amy Jarvis visited China in June, meeting with Chinese regional and national leaders, visiting schools, sharing ideas with other educators building Chinese language programs, and visiting cultural sites.

Funding for administrator visits was obtained through the College Board/Chinese Bridge Delegation Project Grant each of the last two years. Trujillo also received funding from the Navasota Education Foundation to assist with travel expenses.

MUSIC

Dennis Garcia-Rhodes was recently selected to participate in the 2009 Texas Choral Directors Association Middle School Honor Choir.

The 200 members were selected from more than 1,000 students who auditioned in the spring.

Dennis is a member of the Stephen F. Austin Middle School Choir in Bryan. His choir directors are Charlotte Angel and Adam Bishea.

The choir rehearsed for a day and a half during the convention, held at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio on July 27-Aug. 1.

The singers presented the concert for their parents and choral directors from across the state attending the convention.

The Honor Choir was directed by Judy Bowers, a nationally known professor of choral music education from Florida State University.