News : Howes-Vonstein, Hoepner and Lane named Kiddie Parade Junior Grand Marshals

Emily Howes-Vonstein

Hannah Hoepner

Jenna Lane

Recent VSHS graduates Emily Howes-Vonstein and Hannah Hoepner, along with soon-to-be Junior Jenna Lane have been selected as the 2016 Party in the Park Junior Grand Marshals. They will begin the weekend's festivities by leading the Kid's Parade through downtown Vinton on Thursday evening at 6:30 PM.

"Emily, Hannah and Jenna were selected by the Party in the Park planning committee for their active roles within the community and their dedication to helping out others," VPRD Director Brad Barker said. "These three young women represent what it is to be an outstanding positive role model and I believe their continued philanthropic efforts should be commended. This recognition of their efforts is our way of showing our appreciation."

Emily is the daughter of Eric and Kris Howes-Vonstein and has been involved with basketball, soccer, National Honor Society and student senate while at Vinton-Shellsburg. She has served as a student leader for the Vietnam Bench Memorial Project and the Prom Decoration Committee and has also graciously volunteered her time for various organizations throughout the community including the Vinton Public Library, Palace Theatre, the VS School District and VPRD. She plans to attend Iowa State University in the fall and will major in Commercial and Residential Interior Design.

Hannah is the daughter of Brian Hoepner and has been involved with the Red Cedar Trap Shooting team, band, choir, speech and National Honor Society while a student at Vinton-Shellsburg. Hannah plans to attend the University of Northern Iowa in the fall and will major in nursing, primarily because she would like to continue giving back and helping people in need.

Jenna is the daughter of Tom and Dana Lane and is very excited to be headed into her Junior year at Vinton-Shellsburg. So far in her high school career, Jenna has been involved in student senate, 4H, band, youth group and soccer. She is looking forward to begin planning for and looking at colleges over the course of the next school year.

The common thread among these three individuals is not only their impressive passion for helping others but also their dedicated involvement as student leaders in the continued success of Operation Backpack. This program was conceived back in the 2014-15 school year with a mission of feeding some of the district's neediest families. This year, 106 children were sent home a package of food on the weekends when the children would be the most at risk of not eating at all since there is not access to school lunches. These three team leaders and additional volunteers would gather, sort, bag and distribute the packages. Emily, Hannah and Jenna also built further upon the program by adding the first ever SMILE DRIVE where donated toothbrushes and toothpaste were sent home with program participants over the holidays.

These three students regularly visited with local service groups to discuss the program's needs and raised over $16,000 through individual donations, grants and fundraisers. One of their favorite fundraisers was when RAGBRAI passed through town last July. Their freewill donation booth was a big hit as they distributed water to the riders and provided a phone charging station. Emily describes this as one of her fondest memories: "It was incredibly heartwarming to witness the outpouring support of strangers. To know just how much people wanted to help and learn about our program was beyond what words could describe."

Operation Backpack continues to grow as it not only directly helps local hungry children, but aims to spread awareness of childhood hunger and poverty within our community. Thanks to these three individuals being honored, Operation Backpack stands to have a very strong future! Congratulations Emily, Hannah and Jenna on your selection as our Party in the Park 2016 Junior Grand Marshals!

For more information on our 2016 Party in the Park activities, please contact us at 319-472-4164, by visiting us on the web at vprdzone.com or finding us on Facebook (Vinton Parks or Vinton Parks & Recreation Department).