Cahaba Valley Elks Lodge honors local youth

Published 3:08 pm Monday, May 12, 2025

By Dave Domescik

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By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The Cahaba Valley Elks Lodge held a banquet recognizing outstanding youth in Shelby County on Monday, May 5, bringing together citizens from diverse backgrounds to celebrate academic and personal achievement.

The Youth Recognition Banquet brought together 60 young people, along with family members, teachers and members from the Elks Lodge. The lodge’s room was decorated in black and gold decorations, and guests were treated to a serving line that included roast beef, vegetables, rolls, a salad and a large cake.

Guests were welcomed by Shannon Hubbard, the lodge’s president, before Jeremy Shepherd, the lodge’s veterans chairman, performed the Pledge of Allegiance. Mary Ann McKim, the lodge’s chaplain, then offered a blessing over the crowd.

Sharon Gaydon, the lodge’s former president and current chairperson of the lodge’s public relations committee, explained that the banquet exists to honor students who participate in the Lodge’s programs.

“The lodge provides five different programs for area youth: an Americanism Essay Contest, a Hoop Shot Contest, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps recognition, an Eagle Scout project and scholarships,” Gaydon said.

The Americanism Essay Contest had the theme “What Americanism Means to Me.” The contest was open to students from fifth to 7th grade. 476 students submitted essays to the judges from the Elks Lodge. According to Gaydon, reading and judging the entries requires about 20 hours of volunteer time.

“All participants in the essay contest received a certificate of participation, and class winners received a coin set,” Gaydon said. “The winning school essays for each grade competed against others at the district level. The contest then moved to state and national competitions.”

Sawyer Ingram, Harper Cox and Maria Barros were the students honored at the banquet for their work in the essay contest. Ingram is a fifth grader at Pelham Ridge Elementary School, Cox a sixth grader at Pelham Park Middle School and Barros a seventh grader at Helena Middle School.

The Hoop Shot Contest was held at the Pelham Rec Center and had more than 75 girls and boys competing for the gold. During the competition, athletes had to make as many consecutive free throws as possible. First-place winners move on to the district and state levels of the competition. Harrison Mitchell, a student at Pelham Oaks Elementary School, was recognized at the banquet for his win at the Hoop Shot Contest.

The Elks Lodge also honored candidates from the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps from Hoover, Thompson and Vincent High School. Cadet Ryan Miller, Cadet Peyton Martin and Cadet Kade Goza were all recognized for their leadership skills and academic performance, as well as their community service efforts.

Eagle Scout Sam Woodall of Alabaster Troop 548 was then recognized for his Eagle Scout project.

“He has devoted over 200-plus hours of his time to refurbishing and cleaning the grave markers of 65 veterans interred at the Pelham City Cemetery,” Gaydon said. “Using before and after photos, he was able to document the work necessary to return the markers to a respectable state. The Cahaba Valley Elks Lodge provided (Woodall) with the necessary tools and chemicals to perform the work. Sam expanded his project by documenting the ancestral background, military service and photos of the individual veterans, and he is organizing the results in a notebook that will be presented to the Elks Lodge.”

Frida Amaya was then awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the Elks Lodge. Sasha and Noah Gann, both from Thompson High School, were each awarded $1,000 scholarships from the Elks Lodge. Gaydon described how the scholarships are awarded.

“The applications are posted online in the fall, and judging is done at the state and national levels of competition, posted by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,” Gaydon said. “Links for these scholarships are also posted on the Lodge webpage at Cvelodge1738.org.”

After an evening recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of Shelby County youth, Gaydon described what the lodge hopes the community will take away from the event.

“The Cahaba Valley Elks Lodge hopes the community becomes more aware of how much the members can assist in community and youth projects,” Gaydon said.  “The funding for Lodge programs provided to youth and veteran programs depend on the success of fundraising events such as Spring and Fall Fish Fry, Butt Sales and Garage Sales.”

For more information on the Cahaba Valley Elks Lodge, visit Cvelodge1738.org.

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