2 teens honored for service

Two Utah teens have earned top honors in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of voluntarism.

Tiffany Jencks, 16, of South Jordan and Monroe Dauwalder, 12, of Alpine, are winners.

Two honorees from each state receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., where 10 kids will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2009.

Jencks, a member of the Salt Lake County 4-H and a sophomore at Bingham High School, wrote a book to educate others about homelessness, supported an academic club for underserved minority students at her school, and helped her family deliver school, first-aid, and personal-care supplies to impoverished people in three Latin American countries.

Monroe, a seventh-grader at Timberline Middle School, helps disabled people teach their dogs to perform a wide variety of useful tasks for them, as a certified volunteer trainer.

Four Utah finalists will receive an engraved bronze medallion: Laurann Beard, 16, a sophomore at Mountain View High School; Tiffany Earl, 18, a senior at Brighton High School; Meagan Hilmo, 14, a ninth-grader at Timberline Middle School; Samantha Newman, 17, a senior at Layton High School.

The awards program, now in its 14th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.