On a bone-chilling Friday afternoon in January, Pelham Together held its annual Heart of Pelham (HOP) Award ceremony. This is an award dedicated to those whose character reflects compassion, leadership, determination, perseverance, and integrity; and for which recipients must be nominated by anyone in their lives. While academic excellence and athletic achievement are already integrated into the Pelham community, HOP is intended to provide an opportunity to connect and elevate perhaps the quieter voices in our town whose actions have tremendous impact, yet may go uncelebrated. 

So it was, then, that friends, family, and school administrators and faculty nestled deep within J Cafe to applaud this year’s HOP Award recipients. Our HOP Jr. winners are Addy McKee and Minos Vukadinovic, who were nominated for being reliable, passionate, and kind members of the Pelham Together Middle School Club. Throughout the year, Addy and Minos have worked closely to better understand the neurodiverse community; finding fun, authentic, and impactful ways to actively participate in classrooms as supportive peer mentors. High school students Eva Dagony-Clark, Taya Senerchia, and Jagarvey Samuels were also recognized as being assets to the Pelham community. Eva is a great teammate, an inspiring leader, and a generous Pelham community member; taking on leadership roles on the cheer team and in Curvy Girls with Scoliosis. Taya is a thoughtful, compassionate, and curious individual who devotes her time to being a “tireless advocate,” as her nominator described her. Jagarvey is a patient, considerate, and open-minded peer leader who leads by example—modeling sustainable and genuine care to everyone around him. Each recipient was introduced and then awarded with a certificate, as well as a gift bag. 

Addy, Minos, Eva, Taya, and Jagarvey each represent the heart of Pelham. Their impact is long lasting—the kind that initially makes itself known in sentiments, and only later appears in reflections. By consistently and proactively supporting their community through actions big and small, these young people are diligently centering Pelham culture around community cohesion. 

Thank you to all the nominators, to the community members who joined the celebration, to J Cafe for hosting, and especially to our young people.

Editor’s note: This press release was provided by Pelham Together. The Pelham Examiner publishes press releases in the form received as a service to the community.