Brittany Held, of Vandergrift, is a student adviser and orientation team leader for the Class of 2006 at Susquehanna University. The sophomore biochemistry major, who graduated in 2001 from Kiski Area High School, is the daughter of Raymond and Beth Held. --- Dana Vaughan, of Greensburg, a freshman business administration and finance major at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Snyder County, has been chosen as a member of its Honors Program. Vaughan, a graduate of Greater Latrobe Senior High School, is the daughter of James and Amy Vaughan. --- Christopher Barnabei, of Murrysville, and Brad Stewart, of Armagh, are members of the Westminster College Jazz Ensemble in New Wilmington.Barnabei, the son of Domenic and Janet Barnabei, a sophomore history major and a graduate of Franklin Regional High School, plays the bass. Stewart, the son of Charles and Barbara Stewart, is a graduate of United High School who plays the trombone. --- Michael Koza, son of Karen Koza of Hempfield Township, has been initiated into Beta Theta Pi at Purdue University. He is a graduate of Hempfield Area High School. --- The Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association-Westmoreland Chapter has announced the results of a piano sonataina competition at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. Eleven teachers entered 108 students. The results: Teacher Margy Williams, Latrobe area: Mike Almasy, level 1, honorable mention; Hollen Zimmerman, level 3, first place; Anne Huang, level 8, honorable mention. Teacher Betty Zornosa, Greensburg area: Olivia Seecof, level 3, honorable mention; Jenna Talamo, level 5, honorable mention; Lu Wu, level 6, first place; Jessica Verbanic, level 6, honorable mention. Vicki Jozefczyk, Somerset area: Riddhi Dessai, level 7, honorable mention. Sally Strait, North Huntingdon Township area: Dan Koller, level 1, honorable mention; Sarah Smail, level 8, honorable mention. Sue Renzi, Central City area: Trista Corradini, level 5 first place; Laura Sesack, level 11, first place. Ed Kuhn, Greensburg area: Claire Stewart, level 2, first place; Molly Specht, level 5, honorable mention; Luke Fetkovich, level 8, second place; Nicole Verin, level 9, honorable mention; Katherine Colbaugh, level 10, second place; Adam Churchill, level 11, honorable mention; Jacqueline Herbein, Murrysville area: Connor Medgaus, level 2, honorable mention; Mariah Ondeck, level 3, honorable mention, Nathaniel Ondeck, level 6, honorable mention; Abby Ondeck, level 9, first place, Doug Koury, level 11, second place. Christine Loughran, Greensburg area: Sara Silbaugh, level 2, honorable mention; Annie Kreha, level 2, honorable mention; Andrew Taylor, level 3, second place; Chelsi Stephens, level 4, honorable mention, Peter Wang, level 6, honorable mention; Laura Evans, level 7, honorable mention. John Kulik, Murrysville area: Mary Mammone, level 1, first place; Michael Kotcher, level 1, honorable mention; Alyssa Kotick, level 1, honorable mention; Katie Byers, level 3, honorable mention; Erika Wahl, level 4, second place; Hank Fox, level 4, honorable mention; Rachel Pierce, level 4, honorable mention; Becky Kotcher, level 5, honorable mention; Kevin Halenda, level 6, honorable mention; Alexandra Gredence, level 7, second place; Emily Byers, level 9, honorable mention.Jane O'Mara, Harrison City area: Nathan Hayden, level 1, second place; Shannon Icenhour, level 1, honorable mention; Casey Markilinski, level 2, second place; Hanah Astley, level 2, honorable mention; Courtney Scott, level 3, honorable mention; Matthew Holbein, level 4, first place; Emily Hoerner, level 5, second place; Kayllie Wang, level 6, second place; Shannon Satira, level 7, first place; Sarah Rindfuss, level 7, honorable mention; Kara Ramsell, level 8, first place; Zachary Satira, level 9, second place; Brian Read, level 10, first place; and Larisa Ramsell, level 12, honorable mention. --- Eugene C. "Geno" Ray, of Greensburg, has joined St. Vincent College as a major gifts officer in the Institutional Advancement office. Ray will be responsible for attracting major support to the college. Ray earned a bachelor's degree in business management at the Unity Township college in 1987. He also has taken summer classes through the ICSC School for Professional Development offered at Michigan State University. Ray was formerly the director of retail acquisitions and development for Armstrong Gustine Development in Pittsburgh. While a student at St. Vincent, Ray won the Father Jerome J. Rupprecht Award as the most outstanding baseball player. He played second base and pitched for the college team, earning letters all four years. He also was a member of the club hockey team. As an alumnus, he has served on the Presidential Task Force on Athletics and the board of the Bearcat Athletic Club. He now also serves as the assistant baseball coach for the college. In his spare time, he has been a coach for the freshman hockey team of Greater Latrobe High School, the Westmoreland Hockey Association and West Point Little League. He also continues to play hockey for community teams, including a Long Island, N.Y. team. Ray is married to Andrea Kovalcin-Ray, who also graduated from St. Vincent in 1987. She is the controller for CME Engineering of Latrobe and Somerset. The couple has two sons, Zachary, 12, and Cody, 10. The family belongs to the St.Vincent Basilica Parish. Ray is a graduate of Greensburg Salem High School. --- Mark R. Kennedy, of Murrysville, recently joined the National Guardianship Association. Kennedy, the managing director of Mark R. Kennedy & Associates, joins more than 650 guardians in the public and private sector. The association provides for-profit and nonprofit agencies with education and training on issues relating to guardianship work to ensure standards of excellence. --- Christopher M. Swigart, a senior at Greensburg Central Catholic High School in Carbon, is a winner of the Rensselaer Medal issued by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to recognize students who have distinguished themselves in mathematics and science. Each medalist who is accepted and enrolls at the school in Troy, N.Y., receives a $60,000 scholarship. --- Missy Dell, a graduate of Hempfield Area High School, was a member of the third-place team in impromptu drama at a recent event held by the Clarion University of Pennsylvania's speech and debate team. The daughter of David and Audrey Dell is a sophomore communication major. --- As part of its 100-year anniversary, Our Lady of Victory Parish honored Sister Marlene Mondalek, general superior of the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, with its Centennial Award. The parish is located in Scott Township, Allegheny County, Sister Marlene was elected last summer to a six-year term as general superior. From 1998 to 2002, she served on the General Council as vice president for the Office of Religious Life for the Sisters of Charity. The Pittsburgh native entered the congregation in 1959 and previously served as a grade school teacher in Allegheny County and Mt. Pleasant. She did mission work in Korea , beginning in 1968, and in 1994 became the first provincial sister of the Korean Province of the Sisters of Charity. Kelly Camarote, of Crabtree, recently completed her Gold Award project for the Girl Scouts by providing a day of entertainment for patients and employees of Latrobe Area Hospital. The Gold Award, the highest honor in Girl Scouts, is awarded to Senior Scouts who complete a community service project. --- PA CleanWays of Westmoreland County honored Albert Barnett, of Greensburg, as its 2002 Volunteer of the Year. The long-time board member offered many hours of service at collection efforts. Andy Labrasca, of Unipaper Recycling Inc., presented Jack Driscoll and Ellen Keefe with his own "Simply the Best" Award for their energy and enthusiasm in initiating the paper recycling program in the county. The program, which has just surpassed the collection of 200 tons per month, received recognition from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Dominion Peoples Foundation, and is expanding into Allegheny County. --- Rachel Defassio, of Greensburg, is participating in Valparaiso University's pep band. The sophomore elementary education major at the Lutheran university, near Chicago, is the daughter of Daniel and Sue Defassio. --- Sixth-graders Jamie Wilson, Nicole MacDonald, Rachel Clontz, Andrea Palmer, Alyssa Coleman and Anne Nestor, students at Trafford Elementary School in the Penn-Trafford School District, were selected to sing in the Westmoreland County Elementary Chorus Festival, to be held Jan. 31 at Burrell Senior High School. --- The Hempfield Area High School varsity cheerleading squad will head for national competition in Orlando, Fla., after placing first in its division at the Cheerleaders of America Regional Cheer and Dance Competition at Shaler High School, Allegheny County. Hempfield's junior varsity cheerleading squad tied for second place in its division. --- Patrick Fitzgerald, of Greensburg, was one of 28 juniors at Susquehanna University who participated in the eighth annual London Program of the Sigmund Weis School of Business during the fall semester. Students completed courses in operations management, international business practice, and management. They attended various plays, and toured businesses and banks in England, France and Germany. Fitzgerald, a 2000 graduate of Greensburg Salem Senior High School who is majoring in accounting, is the son of Ronald and Diana Fitzgerald. --- Greater Latrobe High School graduate Nathan Zsolcsak, has been voted freshman class senator of the Student Government Association at Susquehanna University. The freshman business major is the son of Ray and Kathy Zsolcsak. --- Seventeen Clarion University students attended the 16th annual Robert D. Lynch Student Leadership Development Conference at the Split Rock Resort in Lake Harmony. The Pennsylvania Black Conference on Higher Education sponsors the conference designed to help develop leadership skills for African-American and Latino students. Attendees included: Terrilyn Cheatham, a senior political science and philosophy major, is a daughter of Carmella Cheatham, of Arnold, and the late Harley Cheatham, and a graduate of Valley High School. Kenyata Dawson, a senior psychology major, is a daughter of Cassandra Robinson, of Jeannette, and a graduate of Jeannette High School. Universities represented at the conference included the 13 members of the State System of Higher Education. --- Moniqua Williams received the Outstanding Student Equity Award from Clarion University. A junior communication major and women's studies minor, she is a granddaughter of Dorothy McClockey, of Greensburg, and a graduate of Greensburg Salem High School. As the president of the Pan-Hellenic Council and a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, Williams helped form a coalition of organizations to bring in Dr. Michael Dunphy's "Practical Self-Defense" program last spring and organized the "Take Back the Night" rally against sexual violence.Williams helped bring Brent Scarpo's "Journey to a Hate-Free Millennium" to campus last Sept. 11. Williams also helped hold the "Flame to Fire Vigil," brought Rick Barnes' "Drink Think" to campus, and worked with her executive board to arrange the upcoming presentation, "The Divine Nine: the History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities." --- United Performing Association "All Stars" from Minneapolis selected Gabrielle Bricker, of Mendon Elementary in Yough School District, to perform at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., on Thanksgiving Day. Gabrielle, 8, was one of 44 girls from the United States performing a patriotic theme at the Magic Kingdom's Tomorrow Land Stage, part of the park's "100 Years of Magic" celebration. She also has twice won the all star dance award at the Yough Mini Dance Camp. Gabrielle is the daughter of Cynthia Kelly, of Ruffsdale, and Dan Bricker, of Greensburg. --- New officers have been installed in the Laurel Highlands Branch of the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. New officers include Judy Field, board chair; Linda Monzo, vice chair; Shelly McGowan, secretary; and Bea Jarbeck, treasurer. New board members are Marianne Anzovino, Emily Kochis, Fred Gaggini and Ruth Sulkosky. Awards were given to Joints In Motion team members Jane Kreha, Field, Jarbeck, Holly Stants and Roger Stants. The team raised more than $24,000 for the branch during the fund-raiser. Branch executive director Sue Beaver said $6,000 of that was raised by Kreha. Walt Henry accepted the Top Sponsor of the Year award on behalf of the PT Group of Greensburg. A Service Citation award was presented to the branch's golf committee for organizing "A Day of Golf with Nancy Lopez" - Dr. Jonathan Kates, Ed Flynn, Cindy Conte, Betty Brdar,Ralph Liberatore, Dr. Raj Sinha and Arnold Levitt. The Program Leader award went to Janet Negrelli. Ron Monzo, on behalf of the Little Rascals Car Club of Greensburg, accepted the National Service Citation award from the foundation's national office in Atlanta. Kay Brown received the Community Volunteer of the Year award and Field received the Lawrence Nicolette Volunteer of the Year award. Ken Gorton, chapter chief administrator, also attended. --- The Government Financial Officers Association has awarded a Certificate of Conformance for the Westmoreland County's controller's report, issued by county Controller Jeffry A. Pavetti's office, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2001. The certificate is given to municipalities that meet the spirit of "full and complete financial reporting," after a review by a panel of national reviewers. This is the 16th consecutive year the county's report has received a certificate. Less than 2 percent of the municipalities in Pennsylvania qualified for the certificate. --- Four local students who took the Wimmer Scholarship Examination at St. Vincent College, Unity Township, earned scholarships valued at approximately $75,000. They are Michael Antonacci, of Hempfield Area High School; Richard Auvil, of Blairsville High School; Elyse Moretti, of Springdale High School; and Christopher Sweeney, of Hempfield Area High School. A total of 141 high school students took the examination when it was offered at the college on Oct. 26, 2002. The scholarship program, which honors the college's founder, Boniface Wimmer, is designed to recognize academically outstanding high school students and to encourage them to pursue undergraduate education at the college. Students who participated in this year's examination were college-bound students in the top 10 percent of their graduating class who were nominated by their high school principals or guidance counselors. --- Dr. Jack Penhall, of Greensburg, was awarded fellowship in the American College of Dentists during its annual meeting and convocation in New Orleans. Penhall serves as national chairman of judges for the American Dental Association student clinician program in clinical applications and head judge at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine student clinician program. He has earned fellowships in the Academy of General Dentistry and the Pierre Fauchard Academy, an international honor dental organization. Penhall is past president of the Westmoreland County Dental Society and maintains a family practice in Greensburg. --- Dr. Susan Mitchell Sommers, an associate professor of history, received the 2002 Thoburn Award for excellence in teaching at St. Vincent College. Sommers, who joined the faculty in 1993, was identified by recent alumni for consideration for the award endowed by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Thoburn, of Ligonier. Sommers resides in New Stanton with her husband, Dallas, and two children. --- McDonald's restaurants in the area have awarded more than $32,000 to local teachers to support learning activities in their classrooms. The program, in its eighth year, provided grants to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade teachers. They include: $500 to Bernadette Schwab at Christ the Divine Teacher School in Latrobe; $400 to Jacquelyn Clemm at Grandview Elementary School, Derry Township; $275 to Terri Clayton at Dunbar Township Elementary School; $230 for Patricia Dancho at Apollo-Ridge Middle School: $460 for Alane Stolkovich at Ligonier Valley Middle School; $450 for Howard Johnson at Charleroi Middle School; $500 for Natalie Cajka and $335 for Darlene Martin, both at Highlands Middle School; $490 for James Wilkinson at Wendover Middle School; and $265 for Fred Goodman at Derry Area Middle School. --- Jay Sellers, a Hempfield Township resident and a member of the Class of 2005 at Ithaca College in Ithaca, N.Y., has been inducted into the Oracle Society, a collegiate honorary society that celebrates outstanding achievement during a student's freshman year. He is a biology major. --- Lisa Miller, of New Stanton, spent her fall semester overseas through her studies at Houghton College in West Seneca, N.Y. The 20-year-old history major joined 10 other students in London for a variety of courses taught by British professors. --- A Greensburg Salem High School graduate was on the team from Westminster College named "Best of Pennsylvania" in a business plan challenge held by the Pennsylvania Institute of Public Accounts in Philadelphia. Member Michael Ranella is the son of Linda Ranella, of Greensburg, and Regis Ranella, of Mt. Pleasant. He is a junior accounting major.