By Jack Reinhard

Two outstanding high school graduates were recently recognized by the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce at the organization’s annual awards dinner.

Hackettstown High School’s Madison Kennedy and Mount Olive High School’s Evan Heller were both awarded scholarships, each worth $1,000.  Both are honors students, well-rounded athletes and active members in the community. 

In addition to the two students, the chamber honored Jason Coe, President of Hackettstown Medical Center, as the Chamber’s Business Person of the Year, and Elise Holck-Rapp, owner of Calico Flowers in Hackettstown, as the group’s Humanitarian of the Year recipient. 

Kennedy will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall, double majoring in Business Management and Economics.  At Hackettstown High School she was a member of the National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society.  While in high school, Kennedy was dually enrolled at Warren County Community College where she was inducted into Mu Alpha Theta, the math honor society.  Outside of the classroom, she played on the Hackettstown field hockey, basketball, and softball teams.  Kennedy also participated in the Sussex County Food Pantry’s 30-hour famine and many runs and walks that benefited charitable organizations. 

Heller will be attending Lehigh University in the fall as a Computer Science Major.  He graduated Mount Olive High School as a member of the National Honor Society, the National English Honor Society, and the World Language Honor Society. Heller also played on the Mount Olive High School Ice Hockey team for all four years.  Since 2014, he has served as a junior member of UNICO (Unity, Neighborliness, Integrity, Charity and Opportunity) and he has been a participant in Habitat for Humanity since 2015. 

“We are pleased to recognize these two outstanding students.” said Andrea Kirchuk, president of the Mount Olive Chamber of Commerce.  “We are pleased to continue the tradition of granting these awards to deserving high school seniors to assist them in paying for their college education.  We offer our best wishes to Evan and Madison for continued success in college and their future careers.”