Richards senior nominated as Leo of the Year

Richards High School senior Aine Kelly has been nominated as the regional “Leo of the Year.” Anne, the president of Leo Club (pictured at induction last fall), and her family will attend a banquet at the Westin Hotel in Itasca this weekend with the other nominees for the prestigious award.

Leo Clubs serve as the high school affiliate of Lions Clubs International. They operate solely to plan and implement community service projects.

Richards Leo Club faculty sponsor Karen Lavin wrote a sterling nomination highlighting Aine’s dedicated service record. Highlights:

Aine Kelly has been an outstanding member of our Leo Club for all four years of her high school experience. Aine has always gone above and beyond in everything she does.

She is one of the top students at Richards, and she challenges herself to take a full course load of AP and Honors classes (where she earns straight As). Even though she is a very busy person, she has always made Leo Club a priority. She consistently volunteers her time and shows up at just about every Leo Club event. I know that I can always count on Aine to be there when help is needed.
Aine has also worked to help our club work more closely with students with special needs.

She has initiated a partnership between Leo Club and “Bulldog Buddies.” Bulldog Buddies is a club for students with and without intellectual disabilities to come together for sports, community service, and school events to create a more inclusive environment and ensure everyone has a friend.

Because of her suggestion to work with Bulldog Buddies, we now have Leo Club students attending Bulldog Buddy meetings and helping with our Special Olympics basketball team. Aine is also thoughtful about bringing opportunities to serve to my attention.

Just this week, she informed me of a toy drive a classmate is running for Lurie Children’s Hospital as part of a Girl Scout service project. I am thankful for her consistent participation as a Leo and for her willingness to encourage us to grow.

I will miss Aine after she graduates, but I hope that she chooses to continue to build on her time as a Leo and become a Lion. She is an outstanding person, and I am pleased to have the honor of recommending her for Leo of the Year.