Savannah Van Orden wins Margaret Mary Memorial Scholarship

On June 13, the Delaware-Dingman Township Democratic Club celebrated their 18th-annual Margaret Mary Jonas Memorial Scholarship Dinner.

Savannah Van Orden, a graduating senior from Delaware Valley High School, received this year’s scholarship at the dinner. She will be attending Penn State University in the fall, majoring in cybersecurity analytics and operations. Van Orden is a member of the National honor society, Rho Kappa, and a member of Future Business Leaders of America. Additionally, she is a member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and volunteers in many community events.

The Margaret Mary Jonas Memorial Scholarship has been an important tradition at the club, honoring Jonas’ achievement as the first female Pike County Commissioner, Delaware Township Supervisor, founder of the Delaware Township Ambulance Corps, and many other community organizations. Jonas was active in community service for decades and serves as a model for those who follow.

“The scholarship is intended to highlight and celebrate Delaware and Dingman Township high school students’ achievements and their efforts, as well as their community spirit and citizenship,” Dr. Cheryl Glenn, club chair, said. The scholarship provides $1,000 towards the recipient’s college fund (or trade school tuition or military aspirations.) Dr. Glenn was proud to point out that students’ political aspirations are not considered. In fact, Van Orden comes from a Republican family who were all there to celebrate her achievement.

The topic for this year’s award was “Communication: How has technology affected spoken and written communication.”

In her winning essay, Van Orden points out that “People, especially teens and children, use social media as a substitute for live communication. Instead of experiencing one or two meaningful interactions, they replace it with posts, knowing that it will generate tens, even hundreds of mini-interactions, contributing to the decline of face-to-face communication.” She concludes that, “ The advances of technology are undoubtedly influential on the decline of face-to-face communication.”

The Scholarship dinner was held at Failte’s on Route 739 in Dingmans Ferry and was very well attended. The Delaware- Dingman Townships Democratic Club is comprised of Democrats from both Delaware and Dingman townships. It is an independent organization, not affiliated with the government. Also at the dinner were several members of the Pike County Democratic Committee, which is part of the PA Democratic State Party. State Rep. Tarah Probst who represents the 189th district serving Pike and Monroe Counties was there along with her legislative assistant, Lisa Miller and others from her staff. Despite the various Democratic organizations, many of the people in attendance are members of both groups.

The keynote speaker was the Honorable Paige Cognetti, Mayor of Scranton who is a Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives, PA-08.