Finalists for Community Enrichment Awards announced

The Volunteer Center of Southern Nevada has announced the finalists for its seventh annual Community Enrichment Awards luncheon to be held April 20 at the MGM Grand Conference Center.

Citizens and community leaders selected three finalists in each of the following categories: education, group, individual, senior and youth.

In the education category, Crescent Real Estate Equities, Roberta Haberman and Windermere Summerlin were selected for donating their services to local elementary schools.

Finalists in the group category are Home Depot for more than 120 volunteers providing renovations to the U.S. Vets -- Las Vegas facility serving homeless veterans; Lend a Hand, which provides assistance to senior and disabled residents of Boulder City; and Snowbirds, a volunteer group that aids St. Jude's Ranch for Children every winter.

Nominated in the individual category are Harriet Bernard, who began the Coats-4-Kids drive at The Salvation Army; Michael Looksbehind, a volunteer at Solari Hospice Care; and Carolyn Muscari, the longest-serving volunteer in the history of the Court Appointed Special Advocates program.

In the senior category, the finalists are Barbara Agonia for her contributions to East Valley Family Services; Patricia Burke, who has more than 20 years of volunteer service at Opportunity Village; and Phillip Esser, for his fundraising efforts for various organizations including Emergency Aid of Boulder City.

The three youth finalists are: Gregorio Campos, a senior at Bishop Gorman High School, for his volunteer services with the Campus Ministry; Jennifer Duprau, a senior at Palo Verde High School, who has volunteered in several community service projects including working with Dewey Animal Shelter; and Riley Foley, a junior at Bishop Gorman, for aiding nonprofit organizations and holding a blanket drive for the Las Vegas Rescue Mission.

The luncheon's keynote speaker will be Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, and Paula Francis will be the master of ceremonies. The luncheon is open to the public. Reservations are required by Thursday. For more information, call 892-2323.

In other news:

* The Nevada Watercolor Society recently announced the winners of its spring show. Out of 54 entries, Barbara Yoerg's painting "Bountiful" won best of show, and Jill Sengel's "Night Flight" won the creative award.

Other winning entries included Shirley Winslow's "Edge of Winter -- Mount Charleston," first place; William Hill's "Sun Up Over Misty Mooring," second place; and Shirley Jeane's "Checkmate," third place.

The honorable mentions are "Dockside Geometry" by Richard Ramsdell, "Spicy Pickled People" by Elaine Wagner and "A Study in Gray" by Susan Neiry.

The paintings will be on exhibit through April 27 at the Sawyer Building, 555 E. Washington Ave.

* The Nevada Contractors Association, a nonprofit industry trade group, named three University of Nevada, Las Vegas students recipients of the 2007 "Howdy" Wells Construction Scholarship. Matthew Newman, Anders Farstad and Pak Ho Cheung, all enrolled in UNLV's School of Engineering, will receive a $1,000 scholarship to apply to their current spring semester.

If you know of a worthy candidate for this column, mail information to Newsmakers, Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125-0070, or send faxes to 383-4676.