(Photo credit: Chris Cutro/The Youth Fair)
The Miami-Dade County Youth Fair & Exposition has announced that Gwendolyn Odin of Miami Springs Middle School and Maribel Corona-Villa of Robert Morgan Educational Center are the recipients of the Walter B. Arnold Jr. Youth Hall of Fame Community Service Award. The Hall of Fame inductees each were awarded a $1,000 check for their dedication to community service during a dinner ceremony on Apr. 28.
Four other finalists were David Barge of Maritime and Science Technology (MAST) Academy, Sarah Nicole Bisnett of Henry H. Filer Middle School, Kara Madeline Powell of Barbara Goleman High and Denisse Salas of Redland Middle School. Each finalist, including the Youth Hall of Fame inductees, received a $100 check.
The late Walter B. Arnold Jr. (1914-2000) had a 41-year history of leading The Youth Fair, including as general manager and president. The Youth Hall of Fame Community Service Award was created in 2001 in honor of the man who had the vision to take a small 4-H Fair and turn it into one of the most beloved annual events in Miami-Dade County with a loyal following of 650,000 fair goers. The Youth Fair is the largest non-profit charity event held in Miami-Dade County.
The Youth Fair awards more than $300,000 annually in college scholarships, cash premiums and awards to local public, private, charter and home school students. To date, The Youth Fair has awarded more than $10 million to Miami-Dade students to help them achieve their higher education goals.
The Youth Fair is the only venue in Miami-Dade County where students can showcase their educational, fine arts and science achievements all in one place and be rewarded for their efforts. More than 40,000 student projects are exhibited annually to more 650,000 family members, friends and fairgoers.
