TO CONGRATULATE THE RICHLAND NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL MODEL UNITED NATIONS TEAM ON RECEIVING THE FIRST-PLACE AWARD OF DISTINCTION FOR ITS WORK AT THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that the Richland Northeast High School Model United Nations (MUN) team received the first-place Award of Distinction for its work at the National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN) Conference; and

Whereas, further, the team has received the Award of Distinction or first place for the twenty-sixth time in the past thirty-three years. Richland Northeast (RNE) received the Award of Distinction this year for its position paper on the Republic of Singapore, which the fifteen delegates on the team were representing; and

Whereas, in November, Richland Northeast students began researching and writing position papers for each of the nine committees where Singapore was represented. The team also concentrated on parliamentary procedure for MUN, policy and solution speeches, ideas for working papers and resolutions, and plans for committee work; and

Whereas, this year's team was a very young team with only two seniors and eight students that had participated last year. The team was represented on the five large General Assembly Main Committees as well as several specialized committees. The General Assembly committees had over 350 delegates, making the work in those committees especially challenging; and

Whereas, Lynn Washington, faculty sponsor, spent this year training two new faculty advisors, Samantha Rainwater and Marques Ardoin, for this conference marks her final Model United Nations conference, as she plans to retire from MUN this year. She has served longer than any other advisor, and her RNE teams have taken home twenty-six first place awards and six second-place awards; and

Whereas, held in New York, this year's conference was the largest, with more than 3,800 student delegates representing one hundred eighty-five delegations from across the United States and twenty-nine foreign countries. While attending the conference, this year's delegates of the Model United Nations team also visited the 9/11 Museum and had a chance to hear a presentation from former RNE graduate Hannah Davis, the founder and CEO of BANGS Shoes, and

Whereas, Senior President Kevin O'Dell led the team, along with the students that participated last year, Kaeli Medlin, Casey Collins, Bilal Tabassum, Amro Alshareef, Kelly Lifchez, Matthew Cao and Dara Malachia. The new students were Jeff Arling, Sarah Shtessel, Timmie Nielsen, Grace Harling, Tamara Barfield, Lina Saleh and Reema Saleh. Proud of these students' fine achievements, the House takes great pleasure in saluting the members of the Richland Northeast High School Model United Nations team for capturing the first-place Award of Distinction at the NHSMUN Conference.

Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate the Richland Northeast High School Model United Nations team on receiving the first-place Award of Distinction for its work at the National High School Model United Nations Conference.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Sabrina Suber, principal, and Lynn Washington, faculty sponsor, of Richland Northeast High School.