MOOSEHEART, IL, May 8 -
As she boarded the airplane in Minot, ND, Maria Pitner
had a very unusual piece of carry-on luggage: a black
cauldron.
So of course, the 17-year-old told her fellow passengers
she was headed to a witch's convention. Pitner was
telling those onboard a half-truth. She was heading
for an important group get-together, but the cauldron
was one of her props for the Moose Youth Awareness
Congress, which took place April 30-May 4 in Hampton,
VA.
Pitner and her cauldron arrived safely, and she went
home with something extra to carry on--a college scholarship
worth $12,000, thanks to her presentation at the Congress
being voted best by her peers.
"I wasn't expecting to win at all," Pitner
said. "It was one of those things where you bake
a cake and you don't know how good of a baker you are.
I didn't know how good my project was. I was really
surprised then they called my name."
So now Pitner is going to take another airline flight.
Thanks to her first-place finish, she and her parents
will attend the Moose International Convention, which
takes place May 22-27 in Chicago and where Maria will
speak to an audience of as many as 4,000. Despite her
relative youth, Pitner has been closely involved with
the Moose for some time, even though she started at
a time when her parents weren't members of Minot, ND
Lodge 822.
"They needed servers for the kitchen for when
they had the restaurant open on Saturdays," Pitner
said. "I loved doing that and I told my parents
that they had to come on down and become members. I
told them that there were scholarship opportunities
for me, and there were many different projects that
the Lodge did. My dad had a few co-workers who are
Moose members. So they came, had fun, and joined."
The Moose
Youth Awareness Student Congress is a gathering of
bright teenagers--many who are sons and daughters
of Moose members, some simply sponsored by a Lodge/Chapter--who
have given a series of "Moose KidsTalks" about
some topic in order to help children aged 4-through-9
to make positive choices in their lives. Hosted by
the Virginia Moose Association, this year's Congress
consisted of 56 young men and women from across the
U.S. and Canada in addition to two Mooseheart students:
Marlene Gomez and Heather Hensley.
While attending the Congress, attendees have plenty
of time to have fun, visit area Lodges and participate
in some educational opportunities. This year, in addition
to nightly visits to Virginia Lodges, Congress members
spent a day at Busch Gardens amusement park and Colonial
Williamsburg, a park set to recreate 18th century life
in Virginia's first capital city.
"It
was one of the busier schedules that I've been involved
with," Moose International Director of Fraternal
Programs Shawn Baile said. "There was constantly
something to do, which was good. There is always
a combination of things to do that are either educational
or fun. We try to find things that the kids will
enjoy."
On the final day, the students go into a room where
there is not an adult presence, give their KidsTalks
and vote on the best. The top five earn scholarship
money. This year, there was a tie for fifth place,
and Baile said the decision was made to give all six
scholarship money.
Pitner's topic was on the health dangers of alcohol
and tobacco use. She used a Power Point presentation,
had props, which included that cauldron, into which
she'd put the harmful ingredients, found in cigarettes.
But she came armed with something else, a personal
story that brought home the dangers to the youth to
whom she gave her 10 KidsTalks as well as to the Congress
members.
"I started to talk about my uncle," Pitner
said. "He was 22 and the only son, along with
two daughters, in my mom's family. One night, he went
with a buddy and they had some drinks. They'd taken
a motorcycle and after having some drinks, they decided
to drive back. Neither of them wore their helmets,
which they had and always wore, and there was an accident
and both were killed.
"It
happened in the '70s, before I was born. My parents
and our family have always helped out at my grandparents'
farm, and while we do it gladly, I have always felt
that this didn't have to be our cross to bear. My
uncle didn't think. He didn't realize that even though
it's your decision to drink and drive, the consequences
last for years and for generations."
Pitner gave her presentation 10 times in North Dakota
for children in second, third and fourth grade. She
also got plenty of insight in preparation from her
family. Pitner is the seventh of 10 children in her
family, and there are nieces and nephews to which she
could deliver her presentation as well.
"I know you're not going to be able to change
a lot of people's minds with one talk," Pitner
said. "But you can change people's minds one day
at a time. Talking to my nieces and nephews helped."
The experience of giving her KidsTalk at the Youth
Awareness Congress was somewhat different.
"The most fun part was meeting all the other
kids," Pitner said. "It was a little nerve-wracking
talking to everyone. It was interesting to see how
the others would sit and talk about their topics."
Baile mentioned that smoking and tobacco use have
been popular topics of the Youth Awareness Congress
for years.
"It's interesting because you're expecting someone
to pull out some topic that no one's ever done," Baile
said. "(Pitner's) topic and story have so much
meaning for her that it shows that you don't have to
take on something new to win this. It takes effort.
Her topic is one that's been talked about by tons of
kids over the years and it's still meaningful."
The second-place award, and an $8,000 scholarship,
went to Stephen Perry from North Carolina. Perry's
topic was Fire Safety, Gun Safety and Theater Safety.
Alberta native Danielle Sather, the lone Canadian representative
at the Congress, earned third place and the $5,000
scholarship. Sather's topic was The Environment. Fourth
place and a $3,000 scholarship went to Illinois' Nimra
Elahi, whose topic was Going Green. The tie for fifth
place was between Rebecca Cross from Virginia and Pennsylvania
representative Adam Zahren. Cross, whose topic was
Going Green and Zahren, whose topic concerned Bullying,
Stranger Danger and Drug Awareness, each received a
$2,000 scholarship.
Moose International's
endeavors include the major support of Mooseheart
Child City & School,
a 1,000-acre residential community and school near
Chicago founded in 1913 for children and teens in
need; and of Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community
near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922. In addition,
the Moose organization conducts more than $90 million
worth of community service programs annually, of
which the Moose Youth Awareness program is a major
part.
Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered
its members an opportunity to do good for others while
celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting
activities. For more information on the Moose organization,
visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org, www.Mooseheart.org, www.Moosehaven.org,
and www.MooseCharities.org,
or call 630-966-2229. |