Hoagland Wins DAR Good Citizen Award

Maxine Olivia Hoagland, Whitehall High School graduating senior, is being recognized as the DAR Good Citizen 2023 winner, receiving a certificate, wallet card, cash award, and DAR Good Citizen lapel pin from the Oro Fino Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. The annual award and scholarship contest is open to all high school seniors enrolled in public or private schools accredited by the state Board of Public Education, starting with the local chapter that serves Broadwater, Jefferson, Meagher, and Lewis & Clark counties.

Hoagland was on the Whitehall high honor roll all four years, taking an extra year of science and an extra year of math, and serving as President of the National Honor Society and an active leader of the Student Council. She played basketball for six years, was active in 4-H, and recently attended a leadership sports camp in Costa Rica. She plans to play volleyball at the University of Montana-Western where she will study psychology towards her goal of working as a therapist for young kids.

She wrote an outstanding extemporaneous essay, using only a dictionary, on the National Society DAR topic "Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for Preserving It" with the focus question of "How will the essential actions of a good citizen meet the challenges that America faces in this decade?" Citizen judges evaluated the four good citizen qualities, reference letters, and school records, which count for 50%, and the written essay for the other 50%.

The DAR program recognizes outstanding young people who exhibit qualities of good citizenship in their homes, schools, and communities. The program and scholarship contest are open to all high school seniors

Hoagland was judged the top graduating high school student from among the nine high schools in the four-county service area -- Broadwater, Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Meagher Counties, based on her essay and the four citizenship qualities:

• Dependability (truthfulness, honesty, punctuality, etc.)

• Service (cooperation, helpfulness, responsibility, etc.)

• Leadership (personality, self-control, initiative, etc.)

• Patriotism (unselfish loyalty to American ideals)

These qualities are engraved on the Good Citizen pin that Hoagland received from Jane Lee Hamman, Oro Fino Chapter DAR Good Citizen chair from Clancy, who commended Maxine in the highest terms and also thanked the outside volunteers who contributed their time and talents to serve as program judges this year: Joy Novota, East Helena entrepreneur of Starz on Stage for many years and now Travel Club 406; Mary Bair, a 25-year employee of the Montana Board of Housing, Multifamily Affordable Housing program manager for the last 10, and 25-year director of the Clancy United Methodist Church choir; and Arlis Pfeffer, Montana City retiree from Helena College of Technology University of Montana as the HR officer.