Stanwood teen named Dairy Ambassador: Olivia Russell, from Stanwood, was crowned the 2014-15 Snohomish County Dairy Ambassador at a ceremony held April 5 in Everett. She will be representing the dairy farmers of Snohomish County for the next year as a face and a voice to the industry.
As ambassador, she will give presentations for schools and for civic groups, hand out awards at WIAA events, give out ribbons at the fairs and ride in parades, as well as many other community and county events.
Olivia, the daughter of John and Ronda Russell, is a junior at Stanwood High School and also is taking Running Start classes at Skagit Valley College. Olivia joined 4-H at age 11 and is a member of Stanwood FFA, through which she’s won several awards, including Agricultural Science Student of the Year.
Her other interests include theater, choir, public speaking and training horses, including a wild mustang last summer.
She plans to attend the University of California, Davis and pursue a veterinary science degree.
Two alternate ambassadors were also crowned.
Larissa Albutz is a junior at Monroe High School, where she is involved in FFA. She also works at Groeneveld Dairy.
Nicole Buell is a junior at Marysville Getchell High School and takes Running Start classes full-time at Everett Community College. She is a member of 4-H and the Junior Holstein Club.
Safe Place founder wins Jefferson Award: Todd McNeal, the founder and executive director of Everett-based nonprofit Hand in Hand, in March was named by Seattle CityClub as one of five Washington State Jefferson Award winners. Then, at a ceremony April 7, he was selected to be the state’s representative and nominee to the Jefferson Awards National Ceremony, to be held in Washington, D.C., in June.
The Jefferson Award is considered one of the highest honors for “unsung heroes” in public service and volunteer work.
McNeal and his wife, Mary, who live in the Mill Creek area, began doing foster care 10 years ago, soon discovering how difficult it was for caseworkers to find placements for children removed from their homes in emergency situations, often at night. In 2010, under the umbrella of Hand in Hand, they opened Safe Place, a 72-hour emergency receiving center for children entering in to the foster care system. Caseworkers from as far away as Bellingham and Vancouver bring their kids to Safe Place.
Learn more at www.handin handkids.org.
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