Youth Appreciation Day Celebrated, Graduates Honored at the Masonic Homes

The Masonic Children's Home, Elizabethtown, celebrated its 80th annual Youth Appreciation Day with an awards banquet in the Freemasons Cultural Center, Masonic Homes, on Friday, May 23. The 37 residents of the Masonic Children's Home received special recognition for outstanding achievements in the areas of creativity, scholarship, vocation, athletics, volunteerism, and citizenship.

Three of the residents graduated from Elizabethtown Area High School this year: Shaun Bennetch, Todd Cook, and Andrea Gegenheimer.

Shaun, from the Cornwall-Lebanon area, has been a resident of the Masonic Children's Home since Sept. 8, 1991, and is sponsored by Mt. Lebanon Lodge No. 226, Lebanon. Shaun enlisted in the U.S. Navy and reported to Recruit Training Command (RTC), Great Lakes, IL, on July 9.

Todd, from the Harrisburg area, has been a resident since Apr. 18, 1995, and is sponsored by St. John's Lodge No. 260, Carlisle. In the Fall, Todd will begin classes at Penn State University, (main campus), where he will major in Business Administration in the area of finance. His goal is to attend law school and become a politician.

Andrea, from the Reading area, has been a resident since Nov. 30, 2000, and is sponsored by St. John's Lodge No. 435. This Fall, Andrea will attend Berks Technical Institute to pursue a career as a paralegal.

Those invited to attend included parents, relatives, and friends of the children;
representatives of the Elizabethtown Area School District; members of the Committee on Masonic Homes; staff of the Masonic Children's Home; and Masonic Homes' Administrative staff. Marvin A. Cunningham, Sr., R. W. Grand Master, was the guest speaker. All three graduating seniors also had the opportunity to express their appreciation for all that the staff and Pennsylvania Freemasons have done and given to allow this program to change their lives.

The afternoon concluded with the traditional Tree Planting Ceremony. Each year, the Grand Master joins the senior class residents and Bro. Gilson G. "Buz" Cash, Director of Children's Services, to plant a tree on the grounds of the Masonic Children's Home to symbolize the senior residents' living and growing ties to the Masonic Children's Home.

For further information on the services offered by the Masonic Children's Home, contact Bro. Cash at (717) 367-1121, extension 33301.