2005 LPWG Awards

     It's that time of year again to hand out the LPWG Awards.  The LPWG Awards were created in 2001 and originally named the Wallboy Awards.  With the passing of time and the retirement of wallboys, the awards were re-named in 2004.  The LPWG Awards were not meant for each girl to receive an award.  They are set up like a standard awards system.  One girl has the chance to win multiple awards.  Listed below are the awards, a brief description, why the recipient has been recognized for that award, and -most importantly- who is receiving that award.  At the bottom of the page are pictures of the award winners, captioned by their names and award.  Congratulations to all of the 2005 LPWG Award winners!

Most Photogenic
This award is awarded to the member who always seems to find the camera.  Each year, for whatever reason, the camera seems to find one person week-in and week-out.  This season, one girl managed to get herself in the lens an overwhelming amount of times; and many times in the same spot in the show!  This year's most photogenic member is Kaci Lamb.

Mental Attitude
To get through a season -especially one like this past one- you need to be mentally tough.  You need to be in the right frame of mind and keep on the positive.  One girl clearly stood out as being all of those things.  This girl, despite her lack of time on the performance floor, managed to keep a positive spin on everything.  In fact, she never could be seen without a smile and an enlightening comment.  I firmly believe that she played a strong role in keeping this guard solid.  Congratulations to Katie Richardson for all her efforts this season!

Double Stack Award
This award, one of the originals from 2001, was created out of fun.  It is awarded to the girl who always is snacking on some type of food.  This year's recipient always makes sure she has a full stock of snacks for the bus ride.  She is more than willing to help you finish your hash browns when you don't want them.  In the past 4 years of this award, only 2 girls have won this award.  Making it back-to-back years, Heather Bell has been awarded the Double Stack Award.

Double Whack Award
This award was a one-time award in 2003, and never thought to have returned.  The original award was given to the girl who saw reoccuring injuries.  This year's winner not only damaged the same ankle twice, but she overcame her injury twice to be on the sabre and rifle lines.  She continued in the face of physical adversity and finished the season strongly.  For her dedication, we award the Double Whack Award to Tina Rardin.

Equestrian Award
Yet another award that was not thought to have returned, the Equestrian Award was created as a joke in reference to choreography during the 2004 season.  However, this year one girl loved her horses (and llamas).  For that, Alyse Kellogg receives the Equestrian Award.

Most Expressional Performer
The LaPorte High School Winter Guard is one of the most expressional guards out there.  But one girl stood out, as she always showed emotion in everything that she did.  Whether it be role-playing an individual character or not, she always seems to share her emotions with everyone.  With everything ranging from smiles to kisses to the audience, Kaitlyn Hickman is recognized as the LPWG's Most Expressional Performer.

Dark Horse Award
The word "dark" has a natural negative connotation, but this award is just the opposite.  This award goes to the girl who does an outstanding job and doesn't always necessarily get the recognition for it.  The Dark Horse Award winner is also seen as the girl who has very strong potential to be an excellent performer in due time.  This year's winner certainly proved herself to be a good performer, as she made tremendous strides over the course of the season.  She proved that -pending she sticks with it- she will only be getting better from here on out.  This year's award winner is Nicole Baker.

Sportsmanship Award
The Sportsmanship Award is given to the member who best displays true class on and -more importantly- off the court.  It's not necessarily because of the position she is in that this winner gets along with everyone: it just comes naturally to her.  She very well is an ambassador for this guard and knows how to handle herself off the court.  She has a strong love for her guard and the activity, and respects everyone in it.  Winning this award in back-to-back years, Kaci Lamb receives the Sportsmanship Award.

Most Improved
This award measures progress from one year to the next, rather than throughout the season.  The recipient must clearly display improvement in a multitude of areas.  This year's winner was a dancer in her freshman year and was bumped to the main rifle line in this -her sophomore- year.  She made incredible leaps to get where she is today, and there's no doubt she will continue to make those leaps in the future.  Although all of the girls have shown signs of improvement, Heather Bell has stood out as the most improved member.

Oustanding Freshman
While it may seem like an obvious choice for this year, I am convinced that -had there been more freshman this year- this year's winner would still have won.  She has maintained a positive attitude throughout the entire season.  More importantly, she is always eager to help out with the "dirty jobs."  Her commitment to the LPWG is like no other.  This Oustanding Freshman is Katie Richardson.

Oustanding Sophomore
For a second year in a row the LPWG has had a strong sophomore corps.  Picking just one was a very tough choice, but one girl had a slight edge.  This year's winner is an all-around great performer.  From dancing to flag to rifle, she always excels at what she does.  She is easily on track to becoming one of the top talents in the LPWG.  Congratulations to Alyse Kellogg for an oustanding job this season!

Outstanding Junior
Being an upperclassmen in the guard comes with much responsibilty.  That is why it is no surprise that this year's winner of Outstanding Junior was appointed as one of the 2 captains.  She is always doing whatever it takes to make sure the odd jobs get done.  She stays after when needed.  And most importantly, she sets a great example to the rest of the guard, both on and off the court.  The oustanding junior this season is Shelli Hilton.

Future Prospect Award
This is the inaugural season for this award.  It is awarded to the person who exudes a bright future in the LPWG.  This year's winner absolutely enjoyed being around the guard.  She has a genuine excitement for the guard's performances.  Her interest in the activity comes to no surprise, as the "guard bug" runs in her family.  The future prospect of the LPWG is none other than Olivia Hilton.

Fluffer Nutter Award
This award has been around since the very beginning in 2001.  This award recognizes a parent for their excellence in the art of cooking.  With less overnighters this season, cooking was not a necessity.  But even when a cook was not needed, this year's winner still managed to display her skills.  Despite engulfing her kitchen wall in flames (which can be a testament of the hard effort she puts forth), this recipient made muffins and other treats for almost every trip.  Cooking is only one of her many attributes that she contributes to the LPWG, and for that we award the Fluffer Nutter Award to Kim Clark.

One of the best things about the LPWG is the support of the parents.  The LPWG has support like no other guard!  The parents are not only more than willing to lend a helping hand, but they show their support in many other ways.  Sometimes it is at the risk of looking just plain silly!  But regardless, our parents will do anything to make our girls happy.  These next 2 awards go to the dad and mom who display an overwhelming amount of support.  These, by far, were the hardest awards to chose, because every one of our parents give a large amount of support to the girls.

Most Spirited Dad
This year's winner has done anything and everything for the girls.  He's been there every single week and has done everything necessary to make sure everything runs smoothly.  There always is an aura of optimism about him, as he keeps the girls in good spirits.  This year's Most Spirited Dad is Rod Clark.

Most Spirited Mom
This mom may not have been there every week, but you certainly could tell when she was there.  She is the most encouraging mom -or parent, for that matter- that I have ever met.  She always has a positive attitude and does everything she can to support the girls.  She shows genuine care for each and every girl in the guard.  This year's Most Spirited Mom is Virginia Jones.

Due to the lack of seniors this year, the Timothy J. Gropp Memorial Scholarship will not be awarded in 2005.  The funding for this scholarship will be added to next year's scholarship fund.

Kaci Lamb Most Photogenic	Katie Richardson Mental Attitude	Heather Bell Double Stack Award	Tina Rardin Double Whack Award	Alyse Kellogg Equestrian Award
Kaitlyn Hickman Most Expression- al Performer	Nicole Baker Dark Horse Award	Kaci Lamb Sportsman- ship Award	Heather Bell Most Improved	Katie Richardson Outstanding Freshman
Alyse Kellogg Outstanding Sophomore	Shelli Hilton Outstanding Junior	Olivia Hilton Future Prospect Award	Kim Clark Fluffer Nutter Award	Rod Clark Most Spirited Dad
		Virginia Jones Most Spirited Mom