May 27, 2007 By The 6 min read

Debra Ellis, daughter of Richard and Roberta Ellis of Uniontown, sports an impressive 3.28 grade-point average at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, but that’s only half of the reason she was awarded this year’s B’nai B’rith Fayette Lodge 471 scholarship. Her extensive list of extra-curricular activities and community service is what put her over the top. Ellis has won awards for her involvement with Arericorps National Service, Family Leadership Council of Fayette County and Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Ellis also is active in Outreach as the coordinator for St. Paul’s A.M.E. Church, as a minister at Fayette County Jail and with the Fayette County Youth Commission. She is a volunteer with the St. Vincent DePaul Society in Uniontown, where she works with food donation, and is manager of St. Vincent dePaul’s Republic store.

She will receive a scholarship to help pay tuition for her next year at The Eberly Campus. Also to be honored is a group of high school graduating seniors, plus a Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus athlete and a Special Olympics athlete.

The 50th annual B’nai B’rith Fayette Lodge 471 Sports Award Night banquet will be held Tuesday at the Uniontown Jewish Community Center, Main Street, Uniontown.

The year’s Special Olympics honoree is Janine Swaney, daughter of Jack and Kathleen Swaney of Smithfield. Janine has three siblings, including older brother Casey, big sister Justine and little sister Jaclyn. Janine competes in both singles bowling and track and field events. Her favorite sport is bowling, in which she represented Fayette County at the Western Bowling Sectional in Mount Lebanon and earned a Silver Medal.

“Janine always arrives at practice with a smile on her face, ready to practice and do her best,” said coach Eugene Caringola. “Every time I see her, she seems genuinely happy to see me,” added coach Joyce McBeth.

Kelli Kite, daughter of David and Nancy Kite of Connellsville, will be honored as the top student-athlete at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. Kite served two years as captain of the women’s volleyball team and also played softball for one year. During her tenure, the Lady Roaring Lions captured back-to-back PSUAC volleyball championships. She was first team All-PSUAC in both volleyball and softball and was the MVP of her softball team. She also is a Dean’s List student and has been nominated for the All-American Collegiate Award, made the conference All-Academic team and is the Student Nurses Association conference delegate.

Sara Zebley, daughter of Ray and Janice Zebley of Dawson, is Frazier High School’s B’nai B’rith honoree. She ranks fourth in her graduating class and is very active in extra curricular activities. She is a member of the marching, concert and jazz bands and is secretary of the band. She was editor of both the school newspaper and yearbook and is a National Honor Society member. Zebley also is in the Drama Club and is a member of the country music band, Girlz in Black Hats. Zebley is a four-year letter-winner for Frazier’s volleyball team and played softball as a freshman. She is a FCCA All-County volleyball member and won the Presidential Fitness Award as well as a Community Service Award.

Sabrina Rebekah Szabo, daughter of Barbara and Charles Szabo of Smithton, is valedictorian of her class at Geibel Catholic High School. She won an appointment to West Point Academy. She is a National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society member who earned highest honors throughout her high school career. Szabo earned FCCA All-County recognition in all three of the sports she played, basketball, soccer and softball. She also earned four letters in each sport. Szabo is president of her senior class and also served on student council. She was captain of Geibel Catholic’s Math League team and of the school’s Pi Day festivities. Szabo also is active in 4-H and is an avid horseback rider.

Devan Michelle Grote, daughter of Gilbert and Donna Grote of Uniontown, is Uniontown High School’s valedictorian. She is president of the National Honor Society, class treasurer and president of Uniontown’s SADD chapter. She is a Math League team member who participated in the Science Olympiad. Grote belongs to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Interact Club and is a section editor of the yearbook. Athletically, Grote earned four letters in soccer, three in track and field and two in swimming. She was selected FCCA All-County for soccer four times, qualified for the WPIAL track meet and served as co-captain of both the soccer and track teams at Uniontown.

Elizabeth A. Bell, daughter of Kerry and Judy Bell of Mount Pleasant, ranks fourth in Connellsville High School’s graduating class. She is vice president of the National Honor Society and belongs to the Spanish Honor Society. Bell is a High School Heisman nominee and got the most of her high school education by taking AP classes in calculus, physics, Spanish and government and politics. Bell earned four letters in soccer and three in softball. She also served as manager of Connellsville’s wrestling team. She was captain of both the soccer and softball teams as a senior and earned FCCA All-County honors in soccer four years. She also was named All-Section in soccer and selected as the best defensive player twice.

Nicole Kerestine, daughter of Mark and Melody Kerestine of Fairbank, ranks eighth in Brownsville High School’s graduating class. She is treasurer of the National Honor Society, member of the French Honor Society, is a high honors student and won first place in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science. She made FCCA All-County teams in basketball and softball and is this year’s Mid-Mon Valley All-Sports Hall of Fame award winner. Kerestine lettered three years in tennis, four years in basketball and four years in softball. She was also active in Interact, The Future Is Mine, student council, Beating the Odds mentoring program, the yearbook and Science Olympiad.

Casey Conn, daughter of Robert and Terri Conn of Uniontown earned a 3.98 grade-point average at Laurel Highlands High School. She earned four letters in track and field and two in Cross Country. She was a WPIAL track finalist and is the Fayette County triple jump and pole vault champion. She established school records in both events. Conn also was a cheerleader for four years. She is a National Honor Society member and also is involved in SADD, Interact and as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society for cheerleading and dance.

Dave Mitchell, son of Dave and Renee Mitchell of Martin, ranks high in the graduating class at Albert Gallatin High School. He was first-team All-Conference in football and wrestled well enough to earn a scholarship to wrestle at Duquesne University. He earned eight letters at Albert Gallatin, three each in football and wrestling and two more in track and field. He is listed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students and was active in SADD, FBLA, Interact, the Math Team and Young Astronauts. He plans to study accounting at Duquesne.