Awards

Hope International, an adoption agency based in Preston Center, received Hague Accreditation through the Council on Accreditation as authorized by the U.S. Department of State. Established in 1992, Hope International has helped more than 200 children find “forever families” and provides services to assist parents adopting from any country in the world.

Architect EG Hamilton, 94, recently received the lifetime achievement award from the American Institute of Architects for his minimalist work designing NorthPark Center and setting it apart from traditional malls.

The James Beard Foundation announced the Dallas semifinalists for its 2014 chefs and restaurant awards. Restaurateurs Sam Fox of True Food Kitchen and John Tesar of Spoon Bar & Kitchen both made the list. Spoon also made Texas Monthly’s list of best restaurants in the state.

For the third year in a row, Antay Bilgutay of Glen Meadows took home top prize at the New Play Competition put on by TeCo Theatrical Productions at the Bishop Arts Theatre in Oak Cliff. Bilgutay won for his character-driven one-act play “Strangers in a Chapel,” about two people who seek refuge in a hospital chapel. Bilgutay has a degree in theater studies and English from Yale University and works as the director of development for the Dallas Theater Center.

Education

Jake Steele, Dalton Bray, Will Moyer, Robbie Maysent, Cassidy Kaye, T’Erica Johnson, Casey Allman and Gigi Allman of the Hillcrest High School mock trial team took home second place at the 35th annual Texas High School Mock Trial Competition. The students advanced through five rounds of competition and went up against the defending champions from Carrollton Creekview, which took first place.

Hillcrest High School senior Jared Juarez is one of 2,000 finalists nationwide for the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship and will find out this month whether he received the honor. Annually, more than 50,000 high school seniors apply for the scholarship. Juarez ranks in the top 1.8 percent of his senior class, serves as captain of the varsity football and wrestling teams, and manages the cheerleading squad. He will be the first in his family to attend college. He’s interested in becoming a civil engineer, a doctor or a veterinarian, as he spends his free time volunteering at Operation Kindness and East Lake Pet Orphanage.

HAVE AN ITEM TO BE FEATURED?

Please submit news items and/or photos concerning neighborhood residents, activities, honors and volunteer opportunities to editor@advocatemag.com. Our deadline is the first of the month prior to the month of publication.