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Photo by Jon Anderson
The Hoover police and fire departments on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, honored winners of essay, poetry and art contests at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. From left are Spain Park High senior Tatum Ahlemeyer (essay contest winner), Deer Valley Elementary's Ava Hedgepath (poetry contest winner), Brock's Gap Intermediate's Ruchira Shetty, (fire prevention poster contest winner), Gwin Elementary's Evelyn Petterson (school resource officer essay contest) and Hoover HIgh School's Jordyn Averthart (essay contest winner).
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Hoover Parent Teacher Council President Ashley Gregory speaks at the 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Hoover fire Chief Clay Bentley and Fire Marshal Mark Thornton pose for a photo with Brock's Gap Intermedate School student Ruchira Shetty, who won the Fire Department's 2024 fire prevention poster contest.
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Ruchira Shetty, a student at Brock's Gap Intermediate School, won first place in the 2024 fire prevention poster contest put on by the Hoover Fire Department.
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Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis, left, and Gwin Elementary school resource officer Matt Barrett pose for a photo with Evelyn Petterson, who won first place in the Police Department's 2024 essay contest about school resource officers during the 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Everlyn Petterson, a fifth grader at Gwin Elementary School, won the Hoover Police Department's 2024 essay contest about school resource officers.
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Deer Valley Elementary third girader Agva Hedgepath won the Hoover Fire Department's 2024 poetry contest about firefighters.
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Ava Hedgepath, a third grader from Deer Valley Elementary School, reads her poem that won first place in a poetry contest about firefighters at the Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis poses for a photo with Hoover High School senior Jordyn Averhart, who won the Police Department's 2024 essay contest about peer pressure, during the 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Hoover fire Chief Clay Bentley speaks at the Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis poses for a photo with Spain Park High School senior Tatum Ahlemeyer, who won the Police Department's 2024 essay contest about peer pressure, during the 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Taylor Ahlemeyer, a senior at Hoover High School, won the Hoover Police Department's 2024 essay contest about peer pressure.
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Jordyn Averhart, a senior at Hoover High School, reads an essay she wrote about peer pressure at the 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Ruchira Shetty, a student at Brock's Gap Intermediate School, won first place in the 2024 fire prevention poster contest put on by the Hoover Fire Department. Here, she is presented with her award at the Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis presents an award to Gwin Elementary School fifth grader Evelyn Petterson for winning the Hoover Police Department's 2024 essay contest for fifth graders at the Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Gwin Elementary School fifth grader Evelyn Petterson reads an essay about her school resource officer that won first place in the Hoover Police Department's 2024 essay contest for fifth graders at the Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Hoover police Nick Derzis presents awards to essay contest winners at the Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
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Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox talks about leadership at the Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
The Hoover Parent Teacher Council on Thursday held its 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast and recognized winners of essay, poetry and art contests from Hoover schools.
Jordyn Averhart, a senior at Hoover High School, and Tatum Ahlemeyer, a senior at Spain Park High School, were winners of this year’s essay contest for seniors. Each wrote an essay about peer pressure and were awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the Hoover Police Department, with money donated by Frank Barefield. Both essays were written as letters to younger siblings and read aloud at Thursday morning’s breakfast.
Averhart, who is headed to the University of Alabama, wrote her letter to her younger sister, Kendyl, and talked about times when she was easily influenced by those around her as she desperately wanted to fit in.
“I saw others around me taking part in skipping class, drinking, drug usage and sexual activity,” Averhart said. “In the back of my mind, I wanted to try and experiment with the lifestyle they were living, even though I knew it was not only wrong but dangerous as well.”
Photo by Jon Anderson
Jordyn Averhart, a senior at Hoover High School, reads an essay she wrote about peer pressure at the 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
At first, it was easy to say no to the temptations, but as her friends started getting involved in bad activities, “suddenly the things I was taught in elementary and middle school from TNT [Teens Need Teens] and D.A.R.E.[Drug Abuse Resistance Education] had disappeared before I had known it,” Averhart said. “Walking down halls I felt suffocated and discombobulated. I could not understand how those who used to play tag on the playground were now in this dangerous lifestyle. I then started to notice those who were my best friends pushing me. I was terrified not only to try, but to say no. Would I lose my friends? Would people consider me a punk? I did not want to be an outcast, so I put my fear aside and stepped in for less than a minute. To this day, it’s my biggest regret because I knew I had let you and our parents down.”
Averhart said some people in high school will change.
“Some people who you think are friends are going to try to push you to join them, so you can be on the same path as them,” Averhart said. “It may seem cool to be a part of that lifestyle, but it’s only euphoria. The path they took is hurting them in the present day and in the future. I need you to be better than me.. I need you to be the person I couldn’t be years ago. I need you to say no because when you look back, it will be the best decision for your future.”
Ahlemeyer, who is headed to Lipscomb University, wrote her letter to her little brother, Brody. She told him there are many voices competing for our attention, some like shouts and some like whispers, and more and more he will have to decide to which voices to listen.
“You will feel pulled in a million different directions because there can be a million different choices to make,” Ahlemeyer said. “I can’t possibly name all of the different pressures we face as we grow up, but I can guarantee you one thing: there will always be a pressure to compromise. There will always be a voice that calls you away from what you know to be true and good.
Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis poses for a photo with Spain Park High School senior Tatum Ahlemeyer, who won the Police Department's 2024 essay contest about peer pressure, during the 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
“This pressure is real; it is heavy,” Ahlemeyer said. “Too often we listen to its voice. It’s the one that makes us doubt who we are, who we were created to be and who our God is. It’s the one that leads us to do things that will only lead to hurt and heartache in the long run.”
Ahlemeyer encouraged her brother to remember that when the world calls him toward darkness, there is always a way to the light and that the lines shines, especially in the darkness.
“Stand firm in the voice of truth; do not wobble around on the opinions of man,” she said. “Sometimes this road will be lonely. There may not be many who choose to walk it with you. In fact, this road is usually the most difficult. But I promise you, it is the most rewarding. It is the path we are all meant to take, the journey that shapes us into the people we are truly meant to become.”
The Hoover Police Department also had an essay contest for fifth graders, with the students asked to write about their school resource officers. The winner was Evelyn Petterson, a fifth grader at Gwin Elementary, who wrote about her school resource officer, Matt Barrett.
Barrett is a dedicated and outstanding teacher, teaching fifth graders about the dangers of drugs and the difference between right and wrong, but he also makes it fun, Petterson said.
Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis, left, and Gwin Elementary school resource officer Matt Barrett pose for a photo with Evelyn Petterson, who won first place in the Police Department's 2024 essay contest about school resource officers during the 2024 Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
“Officer Barrett also keeps us safe,” Petterson said. “He makes sure there are not any dangerous items on the school property, and he protects us from people that are not permitted to be on campus. Knowing that I am safe makes me and many others feel comfortable at school.”
Barrett also serves as a counselor, she said. If students are feeling uncomfortable about something at school or at home, they can talk to him about their concerns, and he can give resources and advice, she said.
“He is so committed to his job and the people around him, and that is what makes him such an awesome SRO,” Petterson said.
The Hoover Fire Department congratulated Deer Valley third grader Ava Hedgepath for winning a poetry contest about firefighters and Brock’s Gap Intermediate School student Ruchira Shetty for winning a fire prevention poster contest.
Thursday’s breakfast was attended by a variety of city leaders, including Mayor Frank Brocato, City Administrator Ken Grimes, Councilman Casey Middlebrooks, top police and fire officials, Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox, school board members, principals and leaders of PTSO, PTO and PTA groups.
Maddox, who talked about how it’s important for leaders to be people who build relationships, listen genuinely, motivate and encourage others, and do hard things.
“If we’re ever going to get better in any area of our lives, we have to do hard things,” Maddox said. “Rarely do we ever benefit from things that come very easy.”
Photo by Jon Anderson
Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox talks about leadership at the Hoover City Leaders Breakfast at Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
When people find ways to overcome challenges and obstacles, they will be better for it in the long run, he said. “Without making difficult decisions and doing hard things, you’re never going to make any progress.”
Good leaders also model humility and always view themselves as the least important person in the room, Maddox said. “Continually remind yourself — you are not nearly as important as you think you are,” he said.
Strong leaders also play to win, Maddox said.
“I’m very competitive, and I want to be the absolute best in everything that we do,” he said. “Our school system is phenomenal. I just want to find a way for us to make it even better, and I believe we can.”
