Vice President

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="08fd4b83.jpg"> <div> <IMG SRC="098b9750.jpg" border=0 width="185" height="373" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#3300CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>Hope Peace Love Compassion Charity (HPLCC)</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC33" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT>   |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hope Peace Love Compassion Charity (HPLC">home</A></div> <div> <A HREF="larry.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="President">President</A>   |   <B>Vice President</B>   |   <A HREF="ken.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SecretaryTreasurer">Secretary-Treasurer</A></div> <div> Vice President</div> <div> Abelina Megill lives an active life in Hyrum, Utah, taking care of her extended family that includes the many children in the elementary school across the street from her home.  She goes every day to help the teacher with the children of Mexican workers in the local meat packing plant.  She was born in New Mexico where she grew up speaking Spanish and attended the local mission schools.  In 1946, she married Rex Megill, an internationally known astrophysicist until his death in 1998.   Throughout her life she has worked with children and youth as well as serving on the Board of Directors of a local non-profit nursing home.  For twenty-one years she was the director of the Upward Bound program at Utah State University ; a program <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#333333" FACE="Arial" >designed to help students who were dropping out of high school.</FONT>  She organized, managed, and raised money for the program that identified bright and disadvantaged students that were not doing well in high school.  The students were tutored during the year and then brought to Utah State University campus for an intensive six-week program that focused on improving their skills in subjects where they were deficient.  More than one thousand students went through the Upward Bound program during her leadership and eighty per cent of them went on to attend university.   In addition, she served at the university as the Director of Special Services helping under prepared students at the university, Director of the Disabled Student Center, and Director of the Office of Minority Affairs.   During the course of her many activities, she took some of the students into her home when they had nowhere else to go and added them to her diverse family.  In 1987 she received the Hart Quinn Memorial Award for outstanding dedication and contribution to disadvantaged students.  In 1989 she received the El Corazon award in recognition of lifetime commitment to the advancement of the Chicano people.  In 1990 she received the Silver Apple Award in recognition of her efforts to protect and promote equal rights and opportunities for women and girls.  In 1994 she received the Women over 65 Achievement Award from the Utah State University Center for Lifelong Learning.  In 2005 she was the recipient of the Golden Apple Award given by the Utah State PTA in recognition of her volunteer work. </div> <bR> <div> <I>In giving the Golden Apple Award, her work was described as follows:</I></div> <bR> <div> Located in a low socioeconomic area with a highly diverse population, Lincoln Elementary considers itself lucky to be the recipient of one volunteer's untiring efforts.   Described as "the consummate example of what volunteerism is all about," Abbie Megill has volunteered in the public school system for more than 45 years and believes strongly that the whole child needs to be educated and nurtured, not just the intellect.</div> <div>  </div> <div> Megill grew up in New Mexico , with Spanish as her first language.  Shortly after arriving in Cache Valley , Abbie discovered that there was a real need for volunteers who spoke a second language.  During her years of volunteering at Lincoln Elementary in Hyrum, the Latino population has grown significantly and many students struggle to fit into their new community. </div> <bR> <div> First-grade teacher Dana White says Megill's commitment to students is unparalleled.   "She spends her time, talents, energy and, often, her own money, to ensure that children learn to read, write and understand numbers.  She speaks fluent Spanish and is always on hand to assist during parent-teacher conferences," White says, adding that Megill, when necessary, travels with teachers who make home visits. </div> <div> "Abbie has a natural gift in working with children and intuitively knows their needs, with special time and attention given to the students who need it most," White explains.   "She recognizes and embraces diversity in the classroom.  She appreciates cultural, physical, social and emotional differences and uses them as tools to promote kindness and understanding. </div> <bR> <div> Award nominator Nicholas Cornwell says Megill's generosity goes beyond the volunteering of her time.  "She has been quite generous financially with the classes in which she has worked.   In several situations, this has been the difference in having or not having a classroom library, for example," he commented. </div> <bR> <div> Through her years of volunteering, Megill discovered a program called "Upward Bound," which was designed to help students who were dropping out of high school.   The program encourages students - many of whom come from dysfunctional homes or are recent immigrants with limited or non-existent English skills --to return to high school, graduate and then attend college.   It quickly became Megill's passion, and she realized that funding was minimal, so she volunteered her time and provided funding, as well. </div> <bR> <div> Megill's volunteer efforts don't stop at the school - she also is regularly called upon to translate for the City of Hyrum Justice Court and many community meetings, as well. </div> <bR> <div> Lincoln Elementary School Principal Curt Hanks says Megill performs her volunteer work unobtrusively, never seeking any sort of recognition for the services that she performs.   "That is one reason why we thought it would be nice to recognize her with this Golden Apple Award," he concluded. </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>