Youth and Scholarships:

Each month during the school year Ontario Rotary recognizes middle school students from the Ontario School District. Students receive an award certificate and a gift card for $50 from Barnes and Nobles.

2. Vocational Day

Each year Ontario Rotary Club honors vocational students from high schools in Ontario. This year 20 students were honored.

3. Student Government Day

Annually the City of Ontario and Ontario Rotary Club partner to host student government day. Students from high schools in Ontario are assigned to shadow a member of City government or the judiciary. They meet back together for lunch at the Double Tree Hotel sponsored by Ontario Rotary Club. Each student is provided with an opportunity to describe their day and what they learned. An outstanding event that is enjoyed by everyone-especially hearing the students describe what they have learned about the tax base!

4. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), Rotary's training program for young leaders, emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth.

Are you ready to:
Share an inspiring experience with tomorrow's future leaders?
Mentor youth to further develop their talents and abilities?
Help youth accomplish personal goals through teamwork

5. Teen Leadership Camp (TLC)

6. Interact

Interact is Rotary International's service club for young people ages 14-18. Interact clubs at Ontario High School and Chaffey High School are sponsored by the Ontario Rotary club, which provides support and guidance, but Interact clubs are self-governing and self-supporting. Club membership varies greatly. Clubs can be single-gender or mixed, as well as large and small. The membership base can be drawn from the student body of a single school or from two or more schools from the same community. Each year, Interact clubs complete at least two community service projects, one of which furthers international understanding and goodwill. Through projects, Interactors develop a network of friendships with local and overseas clubs. And, in the process, Interactors develop leadership skills and learn the value of hard work.

7 . Four-Way Speech Contest

The annual Four-Way Speech Contest involves and benefits high school aged youth. The specific goals of the contest are:

• To acquaint a large number of youth with Rotary, and specifically, the tenets of the Four-Way test.
• To demonstrate and enhance Rotarians’ commitment to youth.
• To heighten awareness of Rotary among older youth, parents, school officials, and the community at large.
• To recognize encourage and reward hard work and accomplishment in our youth.

8. George R. Hensel Ethics Essay Contest

Ryan Navro

Rotary International District 5300 George R. Hensel Ethics Essay Contest is designed to challenge high school students to analyze ethical issues and concerns confronting them in today's complex world. Because our fellow Rotarian, businessman, and philanthropist, George R. Hensel, Ph.D., privately funds this contest, there are no entry fees to pay. Students submit essays to their local Rotary Clubs and present their essays at a club meeting. Winners at the club level advance to the Group Level and the winners at that level compete at the District Conference. The top three winners at each level are awarded cash prizes and the winner at the District Conference receives $1000.

The winning student and a representative of their school will be invited to the Ontario Rotary Lunch meeting on March 12, 2009 to be honored and receive their award.

9. Dan Stover Memorial Music Contest

Winner of the Ontario Rotary Club Dan Stover Music Contest 2009.

Lauren Meeks

Musically talented high school students each year participate in a Rotary District 5300 program entitled the Dan Stover Memorial Music Scholarship, and winners qualify for educational awards that enable them to further their studies at an accredited college, university, or music conservatory upon high school graduation.

Who was Dan Stover and Why Is the Scholarship Named after Him

The worlds of education and music transected in the life of Dan Stover, a secondary education professional whose musical talents were shared with his family, his community, and certainly with Rotary, at both the local and District levels. Dan Stover was an educator who always placed the student first, and his obvious respect for his students transformed the lives of countless young people. He shared his love of learning with the young, providing them with a positive role model for structuring their studies and their lives. And Dan Stover was an accomplished musician, both as a vocalist and an instrumentalist. He was as much at home in the finals of Barber Shop Quartet competition as he was at the keyboard of his famous "Rotary" organ, serenading Club meetings and District Conferences with his unique musical wizardry. Dan Stover passed away shortly following the 1987 District Conference at which his friend and follow Alhambra Rotarian, Dr. Tim Keen Siu, became District Governor. Dan was noticeably ill at the conference, but he played out his heart for Dr. Tim and others, knowing that the show must go on.

How the Scholarship Program Began

The Rotary Club of Alhambra, in the year following Dan Stover's death, established a Music Scholarship Program and Competition in Dan's name. The program was proposed, organized, and championed by new Rotarian Christine Montan who, as Alhambra's first woman Rotarian, quickly recognized and appreciated the talent and effectiveness of Dan Stover as a Rotarian and as a person. Under Rotarian Montan's leadership, the Dan Stover Memorial Music Scholarship "graduated" into a District program in the following year, and the rest is history. A whole generation of talented, young musicians has had the opportunity, in the name of Dan Stover, to compete against their peers, and earn funds to further their musical education.