Arabian Horse Association youth members are anything but average. The "Youth of the Year" award honors one outstanding youth member annually. Criteria for this prestigious award is based on his or her academic and community achievements; and contributions to the Arabian horse industry, AHA and his or her community.
This year, one candidate distinguished herself, with her passion for the Arabian horse breed; with her desire to help youth and to bring people in the industry together; and above all, her perseverance in every aspect of her life.
AHA is proud to announce Miss Flora ElmColone, from Santa Ynez Valley, California, as the honored winner of this year's "Youth of the Year" award.
Compassion, humility and motivation are the foundation of this young woman's approach to life. Through her high school career, she has taken on numerous advanced placement classes. She has a desire for teaching and has volunteered for a science, technology, engineering and mathematics program, also known as STEM. She has done numerous internships, helped in various ways in classrooms and tutoring sessions and this year, is the president of the Future Educators of America club at her high school.
Not only is she competitive in academics, but she is competitive in sports as well. She recently made the switch from track and field to tennis last year, walking onto the varsity team. However, her true passion lies in her love of music and songwriting. She has composed more than 200 songs so far and hopes to continue to do so for the rest of her life.
Moreover, our Youth of the Year has and is an important part of the Arabian Horse Youth Association. She served as the Region 2 youth director from 2013 to 2015, was elected as the AHYA secretary in 2015, and now is serving as the AHYA president. During her years as the Region 2 youth director and the AHYA secretary, and now as the AHYA president, she has started and continues to create activities and fundraising opportunities in her region to encourage youth and adults to get to know each other more and to help grow their involvement in the industry.
Then again, it is not just about the fundraising for her. She has been an advocate along the way. Even in places where she is not surrounded by the Arabian horse industry she tries to educate people about the versatility of our breed and the productivity of the organization.
Her efforts within the Arabian horse community has led her to strive to be a positive influence on AHYA and to be a role model for those who aspire to become further involved in the Arabian horse community. She believes that the Arabian horse youth community can and will grow -- that youth are the stepping stones to a bright future.
Her passion, pursuit of excellence, personality and support of the Arabian horse are just some of the attributes that we, as AHA members want to represent us as our Youth of the Year. We would like to present her with the Youth of the Year perpetual trophy, a personalized carved wood form photograph, as well as a $1000 scholarship from AHYA.
Flora ElmColone is a leader among her peers, serving her breed and others with a selfless attitude and the heart of a champion. AHA is proud to call her our 2016 "Youth of the Year."
AHA would also like to congratulate, Miss Emily Barker from Region 1 as the first runner-up for "Youth of the Year," also earning a $500 scholarship sponsored by All Things Equine and Miss Tessa Kimbler from Region 6, as the second runner-up. Congrats to all!
-- via AHA