Staff Reports
A new Junior Civitan International Board was elected and announced. For the first time in several years, our international board has a member from the Canadian region.
President: Brookelynn Curry
Vice President: Olivia McCrae (Canada Region)
International Directors: Georgia Heilig, Aneesa Hussein Haruna, Kayla McCarthy
Two Civitans were recently appointed to leadership positions in Junior Civitan: Kendra Wormley (Region Chairs Representative) and Emily Hodges (Civitan International Board Representative)
The Presidential Honor Key was awarded to Baxter Heilig Region 3, outgoing President of the Junior Civitan Internation Board. Baxter is an brilliant example of the Junior Civitan program, and we look forward to the great things he will accomplish in his future.
2026 Civis Award Winners were announced, and Sumter High School of Region 3 was the stand-out winner of the year.
Community Project of the Year: Sumter High School Region 3
The Sumter High School Junior Civitan Club conducted multiple large-scale cleanup operations at Pack’s Landing Marina, one of the region’s most frequented recreational destinations. The organized effort removed significant volumes of waste and established a visible standard of environmental stewardship for the thousands of fishermen and families who visit each year.
Advisor of the Year: Kyle Austin of Sumter High School Region 3
Region Chair of the Year: Dr. Cyndi Osterhus Region 3
Junior Civitan of the Year: Lisa Gutierrez De La Cruz of Sumter High School
Honor Club of the Year: Athens Limestone of Region 1
Congratulations were given to our other Honor Clubs of Distinction for 2026.
Queen City Region 1
The Noble School Region 2
Sandalwood High School Region 2
Salisbury High School Region 3
Rowan High School Region 3
Wake Leadership Academy Region 3
East Rowan High School Region 3
Salisbury Academy Region 3
Academy of Tucson Region 8
Century High School Region 8
We had 25 individual attendees via Zoom, an increase from 2025.
Dr. Rajesh K. Kana, Associate Dean for Graduate and Continuing Education in the College of Arts and Sciences at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), was our keynote speaker. He spoke about his research behind his book, The Neuroscience of Autism, and the history of diagnosing Autism in the medical community. **His bio is included at the conclusion of this document.
Civitan International Headquarters announced their new Junior Civitan Membership Specialist who will be over the Junior Civitan program, Emily Sarvis. She comes to Civitan International with over a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership and programs and is passionate about empowering young people to become service-driven leaders in their own communities. If you would like to chat Junior Civitan with Emily, feel free to reach out via phone or email. 1-800-CIVITAN ext 131 or emily@civitan.org
**Dr. Rajesh K. Kana is Associate Dean for Graduate and Continuing Education in the College of Arts and Sciences at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He is also Professor in the Department of Psychology at UAB. Dr. Kana’s research focuses on basic and translational neuroscience involving neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Kana uses a variety of human brain imaging techniques like MRI to understand the functional and anatomical organization of the brain in autism. As a William Fulbright Fellow, Dr. Kana learned neuroimaging at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), followed by a postdoctoral training at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He works with several graduate and undergraduate students in his research at the UAB Cognition, Brain, and Autism Laboratory. Dr. Kana is a leader in autism research with more than 120 research publications. He published the book “The Neuroscience of Autism” in 2022. Dr. Kana’s research has been funded through different federal agencies, such as the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and other private foundation grants.