Plainfield senior selected for DAR Good Citizen Award

(L to r) Kimberly and Derek Meier, DAR Regent Melody Guillemette and Mary Ellen Tomeo. Photos by D. Coffey.

Plainfield High School senior Derek Meier received the Good Citizen Award from the Deborah Avery Putnam Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution on Nov. 13. The award is given annually.

Meier and three other Plainfield seniors submitted two-page essays on the reasons why they were good candidates for the award. Those essays were then judged by the teachers at PHS. Meier won by a landslide, according to Vice Principal Jean Riley.

The Eagle Scout is a member of the cross-country and track teams, an avid cyclist with Quinebaug Valley Velo, a member of the National Honor Society, and was president of his class for two years in a row. “I participate in my community quite a bit,” he said.

“He's a well-rounded, wonderful kid,” Riley said. “He's humble. Sometimes when a student gets to that level he can be self-absorbed. I don't see that in him at all. That's key to his success. That will be a key to his future success.”

Meier intends to study mechanical engineering at either the University of Connecticut or Worcester Polytechnic Institute. With the award, he is eligible to apply for $5,000 DAR scholarship.