For decades, New Holland American Legion Conestoga Post 662 has presented a special award to two eighth-grade Garden Spot Middle School (GSMS) students at the end of the school year.

This year, the awards ceremony was held in the GSMS Stan Deen Auditorium on the evening of May 22. Assistant principal Rob Arrick welcomed the students and their families, offering special thanks to all the parents and guardians for their support and to guest Ken Wilt, commander of Post 662, for taking part.

"Each year one girl and one boy from the eighth-grade class are recognized for possessing and displaying the following," said Arrick, who went on to list the characteristics set forth by the American Legion such as honor, scholarship, service, Americanism, leadership, and courage. Arrick explained that in early May, students were given the option to nominate their peers for the honor based on the criteria provided. The names of the top three boys and girls nominated were forwarded to GSMS faculty and staff, and two winners were chosen.

Wilt spoke next, saying, "It is my privilege to present the annual American Legion award to a young woman and man in the middle school." Wilt went on to say that Legion members are proud of the recipients of the award and their accomplishments. Wilt added that the award is given for possessing qualities that are "necessary for the preservation of protection of the fundamental institutions of our government and the advancement of society." "It should be considered a building block in the foundation of the character of the recipients and serve as an indication of their future status as outstanding members of the community," he said.

Wilt then announced that the 2024 recipients of the American Legion award are Brianna Gerhart and Gabriel Hoover.

Brianna is the daughter of Nick and Heather Gerhart. At GSMS, she is a member of the Student Council and the field hockey team. She has played club lacrosse. Heather said that she and Nick knew for about a week that Brianna would receive the award, and that it was not easy to keep the secret for that amount of time.

Gabriel is the son of Mindi and Sheldon Hoover. He is a member of the school football and track teams. He takes part in two running events and the high jump. He is also a member of the GSMS band and a leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Although Gabriel's parents tried to keep the award a secret, according to Mindi, she and Sheldon had to give Gabriel a few hints when he was reluctant to attend the ceremony. The two chuckled when Gabriel asked if the award was the reason his mother had asked him to wear a certain type of shirt to the event.