Moose - The Family Fraternity: An international organization of men and women, dedicated to caring for young and old, bringing communities closer together and celebrating life.
Three Earn Moose Scholarships
At Moose International Youth Congress
Three top presenters divide $12,000 in scholarships;
three more are honored with scholarships provided
by the Pennsylvania Moose Association
MOOSEHEART, IL - The teenage delegates at this year’s Moose International Youth Congress honored each other’s best work earlier this month, and those winners will get some financial help when they head to college, thanks to $12,000 in scholarships handed out by Moose International.
Fifty students from the U.S. and Canada gathered May 4 for the 2007 Moose International Student Congress, which was hosted this year by the Pennsylvania Moose Association.
“Pennsylvania did a great job,” Moose International Director of Fraternal Programs Shawn Baile said. “All the things they did for the kids was well-planned and most of the kids seemed genuinely appreciative with what they received.”
At the May 6 conclusion of the weekend-long Congress and based on voting done by the delegates themselves, scholarships were awarded to the top three presenters of Moose KidsTalks -- addresses geared to 4- to 9-year-olds on the importance of making positive choices in life -- and choosing against drugs and gangs. All 50 delegates had presented at least three KidsTalks in their home communities.
In addition, the Pennsylvania Moose Association awarded a further three scholarships to honorable mention candidates.
The designation as top KidsTalk presenter was earned by Andrew Neatrour of Winchester, VA. Neatrour is the 2007 winner of the top $7,000 Moose International scholarship to be used at the college or university of his choice, and a trip to Orlando June 27-July 3 to address an audience of 4,000 at the 2007 International Moose Convention.
Arthur Plowden, of Orlando, earned the $3,000 second-place scholarship; and Amalia Gil, from Espanola, Ontario, earned third place and a $2,000 scholarship.
The three Pennsylvania Moose Association scholarships, each $1,000, went to Shruti Agrawal of Novi, MI; George Brooks of Clarksboro, NJ; and Torry Shepherd of Cranberry Township, PA.
The Congress opened with ceremonies at the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg. Delegates spent Saturday touring the Gettysburg battlefield and enjoying Hersheypark theme park in nearby Hershey, PA. The Congress concluded with all-day work on Sunday at the Eisenhower Hotel and Convention Center in Gettysburg.
In the Sunday sessions, each delegate gave his or her presentation and attempted to convince the other delegates of that project’s particular merits. At the conclusion of the presentations, delegates voted and the winners of the scholarships were announced.
A total of 52 students comprised the Congress. Of these, 50 were children of members of the Moose fraternal organization and two were students at Mooseheart Child City & School in Illinois, founded and supported by the Moose organization. Congress members came from as far away as Kenai, AK. Three Congress members were from Canada.
Two former scholarship winners served as student-moderators of the Moose International Student Congress. This year, the moderators were Dolvin Speight, now at the University of North Carolina and Stephanie Green, who now attends Western Carolina University. The Moose Youth Awareness Program, begun more than two decades ago, is open to high school sophomores, juniors or seniors. The students to whom they give the "KidsTalk" presentations are from 4- to 9-years-old.
Any student who has given three presentations in his or her community is eligible for selection to the Moose International Student Congress. Selections are made by the various state Moose Associations.
The 2008 Moose International Youth Congress will take place next May in Tampa, FL.
In addition to the Moose Youth Awareness Program -- part of its $90 million worth of community service programs annually -- Moose International also supports Mooseheart Child City & School, a 1,000-acre community and school founded in 1913 for children in need 40 miles west of Chicago; and Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922.
The Moose fraternal organization, consisting of the Loyal Order of Moose founded in 1888 and the women of the Moose established in 1913, 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 and www.Mooseheart.org or call 630-966-2229.
In addition, the Pennsylvania Moose Association awarded a further three scholarships to honorable mention candidates. 
In the Sunday sessions, each delegate gave his or her presentation and attempted to convince the other delegates of that project’s particular merits. At the conclusion of the presentations, delegates voted and the winners of the scholarships were announced.