Friday, May 29, 2026

Coronado High School honors student service with new Casey Tanaka Volunteer Service Award

Left to right:
Daniel Vinegrad, ’26, Sean Wilbur, ’26, Chace Smith, ’26, Woody Smith, ’26, Annika Talavera, ’26, Logan Berk, ’27, and Danielle-Elizabeth Mensah-Baah, ’29. Photo was taken by Karin Mellina, Principal. Courtesy photo

The Coronado High School (CHS) Chapter of the National Honor Society honored CHS students for their community service with a newly formed award. This year, as a result of the elimination of the President’s Volunteer Service Award, NHS Adviser Michelle Evenson, along with Principal Karin Mellina, and student Daniel Vinegrad, developed the new award specifically for Coronado High School students to honor and acknowledge their significant contributions to our community through volunteerism.

“I wanted to continue to honor our students for their service, and it struck me that while the CHS Student Volunteer Service Award was certainly meaningful, its name didn’t fully reflect the depth of impact we hope to celebrate,” said Evenson. “That was when I suggested we name the award after someone who represents the very best of service in our community — someone whose contributions extend well beyond CHS. With Ms. Mellina’s and Danny’s support, we are proud to share that this award will now be known as the Casey Tanaka Volunteer Service Award.”

The following students met the criteria to be awarded a Casey Tanaka Volunteer Service Award by achieving the required number of hours of community service within the past 12 months (from April to April). A Platinum award was also bestowed on seniors who completed more than 400 hours of community service during their time as students at CHS.

Daniel Vinegrad, ‘26 – Gold and Platinum
Sean Wilbur, ‘26 – Gold and Platinum
Woody Smith, ‘26 – Gold and Platinum
Chace Smith, ‘26 – Gold and Platinum
Annika Talavera, ‘26 – Gold
Quinn Riebe, ‘26 – Gold
Haissam Kouli, ‘26 – Gold
Logan Berk, ‘27 – Gold
Danielle-Elizabeth Mensah-Baah, ‘29 – Gold



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Managing Editor
Managing Editor
Originally from upstate New York, Dani Schwartz has lived in Coronado since 1996. She is happy to call Coronado home and to have raised her children here. In her free time she enjoys reading, exercising, trying new restaurants, and just walking her dog around the "island." Have news to share? Send tips or story ideas to: [email protected]

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