Second in a series

Fenton kid earns Achiever status
with many accomplishments

Twelve-year-old Jimmy Gordon spent the day before last Memorial Day putting small American flags by graves at the Jefferson Barracks national cemetery. Earlier, he volunteered during the Scouting for Food and Math-a-thon drives.

Jimmy Gordon

These are just some of the volunteer efforts that helped the Fenton, Mo., kid win a 2004 Gateway Young Achiever award. He is one of 12 St. Louis-area kids who received $1,000 savings bond awards in the area competition.

Young Achiever awards are given to outstanding elementary, middle and high school kids. The award honors them for their school accomplishments and activities, along with the volunteer efforts.

Young Saint Louis.com has covered the Young Achiever program for three years. YSL.com likes the program because it honors local kids who make contributions to their communities at young ages.

This fall, Jimmy will be a sixth grader at Rockwood South Middle School. But, his Achiever award was based on contributions while at Uthoff Valley Elementary School.

Jimmy said he gets personal enjoyment out of his volunteer efforts.

He said the Scouting for Food effort is one of his favorites. “That’s one of the really fun activities in Scouting. Everyone liked that one,” he said.

In that drive, local scouts distribute plastic bags in their neighborhoods. Then, a week later, they collect the bags which have been filled with food by neighborhood families.

He said one thing lacking in this effort is seeing the joy of people who get the food.

But, last Christmas, another of Jimmy’s volunteer efforts brought him closer to the people he served. The Uthoff Special Chorus did a holiday concert at an area nursing home.

“You could see the people relax and have a good time,” he said. The chorus sang a concert that included “a lot of classical Christmas songs,” he added.

Jimmy’s life includes a wide range of diverse activities. There’s accelerated reading, sports, artwork, music and martial arts.

He was even selected as Uthoff Valley’s Featured Artist last September. His drawing of an Indian with half of his face in shadow was picked as the month’s best artwork.

But, he admits his younger sister, 10-year-old Sarah, has trumped him in art. Her drawing of a bear in the woods, done in a vibrant Central American style, hangs on a special art wall at the school. This wall contains outstanding artwork selected over several years.

This summer, Jimmy said he was going to “take it easy.” That means he’s only going to participate in Boy Scouts, baseball and martial arts. He decided to pass on participating in the Fenton Swim Team.

“But, I’m re-reading the whole Harry Potter series,” he said.

Reading is one of his favorite activities. He’s been a member of his school’s 100- and 200-point Accelerated Reading programs. Students earn varying numbers of points for different types of books.

The highest number of points are given for classical books or ones that have serious messages. His favorites: “Hunt for Red October,” a wartime submarine story, and “Once and Future King,” of King Arthur’s efforts to establish a just kingdom.

In music, in addition to singing, he plays an instrument. Last year, it was playing cello in the Uthoff Valley Strings. “But, I’m moving to the trumpet and will take lessons,” he said.

He’s not sure he’s done switching his musical choice. “I haven’t found the instrument that’s really me,” he said. The trumpet may not be it but “I’m pretty sure the final choice will be in the brass field,” he said.

In sports, he’s played baseball for six years and been a swim team member for three. He’s fairly new at martial arts but tested in June for an orange belt in goshinjitsu.

Although he passed on swimming this summer, he said he’s pretty sure he’ll resume that.

And, as he moves into middle school, he’s considering trying out for tennis and volleyball.

He also wants to get active in the middle school’s video game and drama clubs.

Last school year, Jimmy had a speaking part in one of Uthoff Valley Elementary’s musicals. The musical was about kids listening to stories by older people.

“I had an easy part. I was a kid, said a few lines, listened to the stories and ate chocolate chip cookies on stage,” he said. In this play, he didn’t even sing any of the songs.

Jimmy said he considers his father to be his primary role model. “He helps me out in tough situations and he helps me concentrate,” he said.

(For more about Young Achiever, visit their website at www.youngachievers.us.)