April 3, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 13 Area Samantha Park wins Ridgewood Choral’s scholarship The Ridgewood Choral is pleased to announce that soprano Samantha Park is the winner of the Florence Reinauer Memorial Music Award for excellence in vocal/instrumental performance. The award is given to a high school senior who intends to continue his or her musical education at an institute of higher learning. Launched in 1967, the fund was later endowed by Franklin Reinauer as a memorial to his wife Florence. In its 85th Anniversary year, the Ridgewood Choral increased the award to $2,500. Since its inception, over $15,000 has been awarded to encourage talented young musicians. Park is currently a senior at the Suffern (New York) High School and plans to study vocal music and opera in college. She also plans to attend graduate school and aspires to a career in performance. Park’s love of music began as she observed her grandfather, who is a cellist and an orchestra conductor. At the age of six, she began studying the piano followed by the violin at the age of 10. As a fifth grader, she also discovered her aptitude for singing when she earned a perfect score of 100 at the New York Regional Voice Solo Competition. Initially pursuing a love for musical theater, she played such leading roles as Cinderella, Hope Harcourt, and Little Cosette in community and school theater productions. In 2011, Park began classical voice training. She quickly started to get recognition as a soprano by earning consecutive perfect scores at the annual New York All-State Voice Solo Competition. She was selected for the 2011 and 2012 New York All-State Choir. She is a member of the Suffern High School Choir, and a member and soloist for the Hawthorne Gospel Church Choir and the Contemporary Praise Team. In December 2012, she performed with the selective New York Symphony Honors Chorus. Park studies voice with Ms. Jee Hyun Lim, soprano professional and voice faculty member at Lehigh University. Park is also a youth volunteer for the Ramapo Valley Ambulance Corps, president of the Suffern High School Missions Club, and a selected member of the National Music Honors Society. Park will perform at the Ridgewood Choral 85th Anniversary Spring Concert on Friday, April 26. the performance will be held at 8 p.m. at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South Monroe Street in Ridgewood. Tickets are available in advance from Choral members or at the door on the day of the performance. Visit http://www.ridgewoodchoral. org/ for more information. Mayors for Meals program Samantha Park (continued from page 11) initiated by the Meals on Wheels Association of America, which seeks to raise awareness of senior hunger and encourage action on the part of the local community. Senior nutrition programs across the United States promote March for Meals in local communities through public events, partnerships with local businesses, volunteer recruitment, and fundraising initiatives. Community Meals, Inc. is a private, non-profit service organization that delivers nutritional meals to the homebound Monday though Friday, excluding six holidays. Volunteers deliver meals between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to clients in Allendale, Glen Rock, Ho-Ho-Kus, Midland Park, Ridgewood, Waldwick, and part of Saddle River. Community Meals depends on private donations to keep meals affordable, to subsidize those in financial need, and to assure continued service to homebound, elderly, and handicapped clients. Donations may be made online at www.communitymealsonwheels.org or mailed to: Community Meals, Inc. c/o Christ Church, 105 Cottage Place, Ridgewood, NJ 07452. Volunteers are always needed. One hour of a volunteer’s time per week will ensure that homebound individuals will have nutritious meals and daily attention. Call (201) 4478295 or e-mail communitymeals@verizon.net. The Meals on Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization in the United States representing those programs that provide meals to people in need. MOWAA’s mission is to end senior hunger by 2020. To obtain more information about MOWAA, or to locate a local Meals on Wheels program, visit the MOWAA website at www.mowaa.org.