BASD's Bonilla a national appointee

The National School Board Association's Hispanic Council of School Board Members has appointed Bethlehem Area School Board member Basilio A. Bonilla Jr. to be the council's northeast region director. He will work with school districts and government officials from 13 states, and will be the official spokesperson on Latino eduacation issues in the region.

The council helps school board members improve the academic achievement and to address the unique needs of Latino students.

Locals earn nursing pins

Several local graduates of Northampton Community College's (NCC) practical nursing program have recently received pins signifying that they are now graduate practical nurses. They are, from Bethlehem: Yolanda Aviles, Ceara Eichen, Gwynedd Gabrielli, Melissa Hein, Shkana Laluz, Erica Rau, Jessica Roberts, Marina Tyma, Katherine Weron, and April Smith; from Freemansburg: Diem Ngoc Njuguna; from Hellertown:Trisha Merwarth and Judith Miller.

Winners of the Clinical Achievement Award were Gwynedd Gabrielli and April Smith, both of Bethlehem.

Charter Arts grad a TV producer, host (with photo)

Matt Bailey, a 2013 theatre major graduate of The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, Bethlehem, is an accomplished ventriloquist who has had training with some of the most famous acts in the business such as Todd Oliver and Las Vegas headlinerTerry Fator.

He currently resides in New York City and attends Pace University, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and Screen Studies. While at Pace, he obtained a residency at the Broadway Comedy Club in Manhattan, operating his full magic and ventriloquism show for sold-out audiences.

He is the producer and host of nearly 50 episodes of Ventriloquism Weekly, an online talk show for ventriloquists, which featured interviews with industry greats including Fator, Tony Award winner Jay Johnson, Mark Wade, Pete Michaels and Hannah Leskosky.

FHS grad Zellner is Palm Beaches club Miss Octoberfest finalist (with photo)

Freedom HS graduate Kendra Zellner, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was one of 10 finalists competing in the local 2014 Miss Octoberfest at the American German Club of the Palm Beaches, Lake Worth, Fla., on Aug. 16.

As the first runner-up, she will attend the club's Octoberfest events during the second and third weekends in Oct. For more information, visit www.americangermanclub.org.

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