By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
At the 32nd annual Brandon Groveland Youth Assistance Youth Recognition Ceremony, 184 students were recognized for their efforts in the community, including four Gold Star Award winners.
“The Brandon Groveland Youth Recognition Awards have been going on in our community for 32 years,” said guest speaker and former Gold Star Award recipient Heidi Fluck Goulding. “That’s 32 years of students just like you being recognized for their hard and selfless work.”

On April 25 hundreds gathered at the Brandon High School cafeteria to honor students for their work in the schools, such as volunteer tutoring, community service projects, safety patrol and more. The four students honored with the Gold Star Award were honored for specific projects that benefited community in a big way.
Keira Bishop, a Brandon Middle School student, received her award for her fundraisers for an organization called Charlotte’s Wings, which donates new books to families in Michigan coping with serious illness and health crisis. She approached teachers and her principal with several ideas for fundraising, with the drive to raise as much money as possible for the organization.
Noah Cox is a Brandon High School senior, and he was honored for his various volunteer positions throughout the community, including being a representative on the district’s accelerated learning team, serving with the distinguished alumni program, being a volunteer with the Ortonville Historical Society and serving as the State-wide Executive Vice President for the Business Professionals of America, while also maintaining good grades and participating in school sports.
Kamryn Goff, a student at Harvey-Swanson Elementary, was honored for helping create the butterfly garden at the school with her girl scout troop, helping raise money to donate to an animal shelter, taking cookies to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Brandon substation, and for being a symbol of strength after her sister Addi Goff passed away last year. She returned to school with a positive attitude and decided to help make gift bags to donate to the patients at Children’s Hospital, where her sister had stayed.
Lily Johnson, a high schooler, took on a project with her economics teacher and several classmates to take plastic bags, which would otherwise be thrown away, and turn them into a blanket to donate to a homeless person. Her classmates collected the bags and she crocheted the blanket together herself, as well as gloves and a hat for a person out of yarn. She also noticed last year that there was a lot of litter across the school grounds, so she organized a group of students who spent several afternoons picking up trash.
“It’s amazing and encouraging to think that so many people have worked hard for our community long before any of us were born,” said Fluck Goulding. “And to have so many of you here now, being recognized for your place in the history of service to our community.”