2006 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 2006 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.  Amazingly, this year two girls were in the spotlight far beyond everyone else; but one girl had the edge.  Her dance solo was front and center, and she performed it well every time.   This year's most photogenic member is Amber Clark .

Mental Attitude
A season can seem long and mentally draining.  In order to get through it, you have to have a good attitude.  You have to know how to stay positive even when things get rough.  Luckily, this year's winner not only carried enough optimism for herself, but everyone else as well.  Her constant smile and cheerful attitude helped make things bright for all the other members.  For the second year in a row a freshman has won this award.  Congratulations to Katie Kemiel for constant enthusiasm!

(Triple) Double Stack Award
This award is given to the girl most associated with the art of food consumption.  Again, there was a tight race for this award as not one, but THREE girls at a Wendy's triple double hamburger (that's 5 patties of meat...one and a half pounds of meat!!!).  But this year's winner not only managed to finish the triple-double sandwich, but also ate an entire four-course meal.  Setting the bar high for future winners, Stephanie Willis has been awarded the Double Stack Award, and has henceforth renamed the award the Triple-Double Stack Award.

Double Whack Award
This award is given to the girl who saw reoccuring injuries.  Toenails?  She doesn't need no stinkin' toenails.  That's right, this year's winner whacked her foot a couple of times, resulting in the loss of a toenail.  She had no problem running around the tarp, most often without her patches  (also her knickname).  This year's Double Whack Award goes to Amanda Bell .

Most Expressional Performer
The LaPorte High School Winter Guard is one of the most, if not the most, expressional guards.  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.  She was the seam that held the show together.  Performing comes natural to her family as this girl's sister won the award last year.  With everything ranging from smiles to kisses to the audience, Emily Hickman is recognized as the LPWG's Most Expressional Performer.

Dark Horse Award
This year the Dark Horse Awarded will not be awarded.  Traditionally, 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.  But in a tremendous sense of irony, the first two Dark Horse Award winners did not return for another season of guard.  Therefore we will not give out this award, as we want everyone to STAY!

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 is an ambassador for this guard and the guard activity as a whole.  Becoming the first three-time (consecutive) award winner, 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/flag in her freshman year and was bumped to the rifle line in her sophomore year.  When coming back for her junior year, she displayed a tremendous amount of improvement not only in her rifle work, but in her equipment work in general.  In fact, she has become so confident in her ability that she was given an important solo this 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, Ricci Emmons has stood out as the most improved member.

Oustanding Freshman
This year's winner is probably the most determined freshmen we've ever seen.  She has maintained a positive attitude throughout the entire season.  Her attitude is contagious, as she is able to put a smile on everyone else's face.  More importantly, she is always eager to help out whenever needed.  She strives to always be at her best.  This Oustanding Freshman is Katie Kemiel.

Oustanding Sophomore
Again, this year's winner is the only one in her class, but is still very deserving.  She has spent a lot more time on the floor this year, and even had her own solo.  She is very dedicated to the program and is willing to lend a hand wherever needed.  Congratulations to Katie Richardson for an oustanding job this season!

Outstanding Junior
Being an upperclassmen in the guard comes with much responsibilty.  This year's winner is a strong motivator to her peers.  She has come a long way in her three years of guard and was responsible for the biggest moment in this year's show.  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 Ricci Emmons.

Outstanding Senior
Her relationship to her peers is not just as a friend, but as a motherly figure. She cares deeply about each and every member of the guard. Her peers highly respect and admire her.  She is a true leader in every sense of the word.  This year's Oustanding Senior is Kaci Lamb.

Outstanding Seventh Grader
For the first time in LPWG, a seventh grader has joined the team.  Coming in mid-season, she was very quick to learn her part.  Although she may feel "forgotten," she is a very important part of the show.  In fact, she is not new to the program, as she has been around the program longer than any of the other current girls!!  She did a great job this season, and is going to be a very strong performer in the near future.  The oustanding seventh grader this season is Lyndee Stisher.

Fluffer Nutter Award
This award, originated in 2001, recognizes a volunteer for their excellence in the art of cooking.  Similar to last season, there were not many overnight trips this season.  But this year's winner persisted in baking every week.  For four years, she has continually supported the guard not only by her cooking, but in many other ways.  Cooking is only one of her many attributes that she contributes to the LPWG (and she does a darn good job!), 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 is definitely the most difficult year to chose a Most Spirited Dad.  All of our dads were extremely supportive to our girls, even at the cost of wearing a blue bandana and looking silly.  This year's winner even went as far as to die his hair blue.  Most freshmen dads are fairly reserved; but this dad did not shy away.  He's always cheering them on and making them laugh.  And most importantly, he will do whatever it takes to make sure everything gets done.  This year's Most Spirited Dad is Tim Willis .

Most Spirited Mom
This year's Most Spirited Mom put a lot of hard work into the show.  Ranging from sewing flags to , this year's mom did it all.  She, too, sported her true blue colors by wearing a blue bandana - occasionally like Little Blue Riding Hood.   This year's Most Spirited Mom is Lisa Kellogg .

Timothy J. Gropp Memorial Scholarship
Every year a senior girl is awarded the Timothy J. Gropp Memorial Scholarship, in honor of Tim Gropp, a dedicated volunteer of many years and one of the original wallboys.  The winner must display excellence not necessarily in the area of performance, but rather in academics, sportmanship, and all-around character.  This year's winner went far and beyond what is expected.  The 2006 recipient of the Timothy J. Gropp Memorial Scholarship is Kaci Lamb.

Amber Clark Most Photogenic	Katie Kemiel Mental Attitude	Stephanie Willis Triple-Double Stack Award	Amanda Bell Double Whack Award	Emily Hickman Most Expression- al Performer
Nobody!! Dark Horse Award	Kaci Lamb Sportsman- ship Award	Ricci Emmons Most Improved	Katie Kemiel Outstanding Freshman	Katie Richardson Outstanding Sophomore
Ricci Emmons Outstanding Junior	Kaci Lamb Outstanding Senior	Kim Clark Fluffer Nutter Award	Tim Willis Most Spirited Dad	Lisa Kellogg Most Spirited Mom
		Kaci Lamb Timothy J. Gropp Scholarship