By Logan Bjerklie // Photos by Sam Soliman

On Thursday, October 5, the McCaskey Alumni Association hosted their annual Distinguished Alumni Awards at Southern Market. They present these awards to five diverse alumni of McCaskey High School. According to the McCaskey Alumni website, “Each recipient is chosen because they have achieved a level of stature within their profession or community to which the students in the School District of Lancaster would wish to emulate.” The honored Alumni Awards were presented to: Evita Colon, Maian Ly McCauley, Richard Mendez, Blanding Watson, and Kenny Myers.

Evita Colon, a 2009 graduate of McCaskey High School was the first recognized distinguished alumni. Evita’s resume is more than qualified. She is Lancaster City’s first poet laureate, founder of Black Voices Magazine, co-owner of  “A Concrete Rose,” the first black-owned micro winery bookstore in the nation, founder of Speak to my Soul LLC, and the winner of the NAACP’s Presidential Social Justice Award in 2017. Evita’s passion for truth and justice represents her authentic love for humanity and her community. Her inspiration comes from her mother. “She taught me how to use my voice. Very hard to do that because I wasn’t sure how to use it.” By following the steps of her mother, she was able to create platforms for others to live out their name. 

“Prove them wrong, never give up.” The words of Maian Ly McCauley, a credited Commercial Relationship Manager and Vice President at Truist Bank as well as the recipient of the 2016 Young Influencer award for her help in the community and industry. Maian did not have the perfect high school experience that she would have hoped for. During her junior year, Maian started to feel lightheaded in her gym class and went to her nurse, who said she had symptoms of being pregnant. She later took a trip to Planned Parenthood on Lime street and considered her options. “Who am I to take a life? Already a baby, 4 months along.” Maian took extra classes to get ahead just in case her child was born during the year. She was fortunate enough that her son was born at the end of her junior year. Maian continued her hard work throughout her senior year, and that helped her graduate in the top 15% of her class in 2005. 

“He put police on bikes,” Mayor Danene Sorace said when presenting current police chief Richard Mendez with his Distinguished Alumni Award. Chief Mendez, 1993 graduate, has over two decades of experience and dedication to the Lancaster City Bureau of Police. He has had a significant effect on the department by starting the Paint with Police Program and putting officers on bikes around Lancaster City. Chief Mendez is also the first Hispanic police chief in Lancaster City’s history. “People think we are going to fail. We are going to keep doing great things,” he says with his closing remarks about our city and this tremendous honor.

The greatness of a community is measured by the actions made by its members. Blanding Watson has been committed to civil rights, education, and economic equity since graduating in 1990. Those different attributes have helped him reach many different positions as a member of the Lancaster City Human Relations Commission and the Lancaster branch president of the NAACP.  “I love my community a lot. There is a lot more work to do. We have come a long way but we still have a long way to go.” 

Kenny Myers was a part of one of the greatest McCaskey football teams in 1988 when the team went undefeated. He started on the offensive line making room for his playmakers to have as much time as they can. Kenny’s success continued after he graduated high school in 1989, as he is now the current CFO for Kegel’s produce. Kegel’s is a family-owned wholesale business that, because of Kenny, has state of the art facilities and has been ahead of industry trends. His work doesn’t stop at his job. Kenny participates and plans in many other events such as the American Heart Association Walk, Crop Walk, and organizing a garage sale for his 1989 graduation class. Kenny’s work in the community has allowed him to have strong ties to his alma mater and dedicate himself to the Alumni Association.

The Alumni Association, founded in 1990, continues to enrich the lives of students of J.P. McCaskey High School and hopes that these five new Distinguished Alumni will have an everlasting effect on the community. The association looks forward to the next Distinguished Alumni Day next fall to commend five more worthy candidates.