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CASS COUNTY — The Captain Samuel Felt Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution recently announced its 2020 Outstanding High School Good Citizens Awards.

In 1934, the Daughters of the American Revolution established the DAR Good Citizens Committee to acknowledge outstanding high school seniors for their dependability, service, leadership and patriotism.

The following students were chosen by their teachers and their peers because they best demonstrated the qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism – in their homes, schools and communities.

Each Good Citizen who participates in the scholarship portion of this award is required to obtain two letters of recommendation, provide a transcript and create an outline of information about their self, school experiences and how their lives reflect the four qualities of a DAR Good Citizen. In addition, the candidate must write an essay in an hour time limit without assistance or the use of any reference materials.

All of this information is then submitted to three non-DAR member judges who have the difficult task of selecting one student. This single student is recognized at the annual Awards Day meeting in March. The winning essay and paperwork are next forwarded to the State Chairman for further competition.

From Dowagiac Union High School, Martha Schaller is daughter of David and Sarah Schaller. She has earned a 4.0 GPA and has already successfully completed 40 hours of college credit under dual enrollment through Southwestern Michigan College. Among her many activities and studies, she is also on the Dowagiac school yearbook editorial board, which will she said will serve her well in her goal of a master’s degree in English to become a college professor.

Edwardsburg High School has chosen Drew Bidwell, son of Mark and Carrie Bidwell. Bidwell participates in many aspects of high school life: twice captain of the football team, twice chemistry student of the year, and he took first place in the Science Olympiad. He is a member of the National Honor Society and is active in SADD, Adopt-a-Highway and Operation Christmas. His future goals are to major in finance and minor in business at one of the several college choices available to him.

The Ross Beatty Cassopolis High School Good Citizen is Cary May, son of Zachary and Carey May. Cary has earned a 3.8084 GPA and been involved in dual enrollment for college credits through SMC for two years. He is active in several sports and served his class as President for all four years of high school. He is active in his church and especially Toys for Tots.

Decatur High School has named Allison Mroczek, daughter of Kristin Mroczek, as their Good Citizen choice. Allison is the student council vice-president and active in both theater and art. She is responsible for the art work throughout town and has won the National Award for Patriotic Art through the VFW. Along with mentoring junior high students in the LINK program, she has earned a GPA of 3.564 over her four-year high school career.

Under normal circumstances, each of these winners would have been “pinned” by her or his parent or school personnel and received a National Certificate at the Good Citizens Tea this Dec. 14. However, these awards have now been mailed to each of the high school winners due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Captain Samuel Felt Chapter anticipates its next meeting will be at 2 p.m. March 8, 2021 at the Cass District Library for its annual Awards Day presentations. The winners of the DAR Good Citizen, Community Service, Conservation and American History will be acknowledged with their names and information sent to the DAR of Michigan Society for state award competition. The DAR Good Citizen will also receive his or her monetary scholarship award at that time.