Annie Magny of Florissant started her business in March, but already she has received a $4,000 grant from Balsa Foundation. A recent graduate of Grace Hill Women’s Business Center, Magny was among the six winners out of 97 applicants. Magny’s One Dish Wonders is a casserole baking business that offers families home-cooked meals.
A pair of 2015 high school graduates have earned impressive national recognition. Ryan Thornton of John Burroughs School was one of 141 high school seniors nationwide to be named a 2015 Presidential Scholar. He was a state-level competitor in tennis and bassoon, part of the robotics team and a participant in The Hague International Model United Nations program. The son of Drs. Chris and Shilpa Thornton of Creve Coeur, he will attend the University of Chicago this fall. Abigail Lammers, a Parkway North graduate, was one of 10 national winners of the Kohl’s Cares Scholarship. Chosen from 32,000 nominees, Lammers won a $10,000 scholarship for leading environmental efforts at her school. Kohl’s also donated $1,000 to Lammers’ favorite charity, the Harvey Kornblum Jewish Food Pantry. The daughter of Vickie Platke and Jim Lammers of Creve Coeur, she will attend Northwestern University this fall.
The St . Louis County Parks Department has created a foundation to support its facilities, programs and capital improvements. A nine-member board will oversee the foundation, with local businessman Mark Ohlendorf serving as chair. The group will tackle such projects as replacing the fountains in Faust and Tilles parks, adding a fountain to Spanish Lake Park, enhancing playgrounds in some of the smaller parks and adding fitness stations on trails.
The classroom is a brave new world. Just ask Patricia Brown of Old Bonhomme Elementary and Kelly Gilchrist of McCurdy Elementary. They’re among just 100 tech-savvy educators from across the country chosen as 2015 PBS LearningMedia Digital Innovators. The pair earned professional development opportunities, and Brown, who was designated one of 30 Lead Digital Innovators, also received a tablet computer and a trip to attend the Digital Innovator Summit in Philadelphia.