Evesham Township honored Cherokee High School student Manas Vadlamudi at its June meeting with this year’s Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) Scholarship Award, and cited committee members for the success of their inaugural youth talent show last month.
The youth committee was established in 2011 by former deputy mayor and councilwoman Deb Hackman for students in grades six through 12 who want to explore government, politics and community service. It offers a first-hand look at local government functions and enables members to spend a year volunteering for events and fundraisers such as road cleanups and food drives that improve a town while the studens earn required service hours.
Committee members also connect regularly with council and other officials and can hold multiple leadership positions within the group. They meet several times a month at the municipal building court room to plan township events.
The committee has presented its $500 Youth Advisory Scholarship annually since 2022. Applicants must be current dedicated and active members of the community through YAC, with a minimum of two years’ service. Applicants must also be township residents and high-school seniors, and complete an essay on their experiences as YAC members and the impact on the community.
Evesham Deputy Mayor Heather Cooper, who also serves as liaison to the youth committee, spoke at the meeting and was joined by committee members in presenting the scholarship to Vadlamudi.
“I’ve known (Vadlamudi) for about eight years,” she recalled. “He was probably was half the size that he is now, and has just thrived, grown, developed himself quietly, steadily, and now is moving onto greater things, and hopefully he will return back to Evesham in a leadership role.”
Cooper explained that as a Cherokee senior and vice president of the YAC, Vadlamudi has shown dedication and steady leadership within the community for years.
“(Vadlamudi’s) leadership as part of of YAC has been outstanding,” she noted. “I am humbled and honored to know you … I will miss you — and you better come back to visit.”
Vadlamudi will attend the New Jersey Institute of Technology with the goal of becoming a lawyer.
The township also used a portion of the meeting to cite the committee’s inaugural talent show for students of all ages at the DeMasi Schools on May 14.
Participants showcased talents that included singing, dancing, playing music and performing poetry. Mayor Jackie Veasy, Cooper, Burlington County Commissioner Randy Brolo and township police officers were on hand to present awards.
“Our Youth Advisory Committee had the brilliant idea of hosting a community-wide talent show for our youth to celebrate all the talents our local youth have,” Veasy pointed out at the meeting. (There were) many presentations of music, art, different styles of dancing, and even a book was written and read to us by one of our young community members.
“Everything was very well done and I want to thank our Youth Advisory Committee for putting it together and hosting it.”
To learn more about the YAC, visit www.evesham-nj.org/boards/yac.
