Mason County High School senior Elijah Throckmorton is the 2020 winner of the Mary Margaret Meadows English Award.
Elijah received a plaque and a $250 check as the recipient of the award which is granted each year in memory of Mary Margaret Meadows, a long time reporter and copy editor.
Meadows, who passed away in 2000, was a graduate of Maysville High School and spent her careet as a reporter and editor at The Daily Independent and The Ledger Independent.
The award is presented to a graduating senior in Mason County, based on essays submitted to the award program. Three students at MCHS and one student from Saint Patrick High School participated in the selection process this year.
The topic of the essay required for application for the award was: Why is it important for you and other members of your community to read a newspaper, watch TV news, listen to the radio, or obtain your news and information from the internet or any other source to stay up-to-date on today’s current issues?
Throckmorton’s essay focused on the use of writing to record information throughout history and the ease of modern technology today to do access information.
“Although it has always been important to remain informed and keep up with current affairs, now more than ever, keeping up with the vast and fast paced transmission of ideas and news via television and the internet is vital to our functioning in society.” said Throckmorton, “Why is it important? Well, to begin with- keeping up with these events allows us to remain safe as citizens.”
“Moreover, staying informed about issues such as elections, potential changes to laws or taxes, public work projects and events, allows us to make informed decisions as citizens, and it allows us to stay connected and active within our communities,” Throckmorton’s essay states.
Elijah is from May’s Lick; he is the 16th recipient of the award, and the award program has distributed over $6,700 since its inception.
