Ringgold senior to be honored at Medallion Ball
Ringgold senior Olivia Warner, who plays tennis for Ringgold High School and holds a section record of 49-7, will receive the Joan of Arc Medallion Nov. 25 from Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. The medallion honors those who volunteer more than 150 hours.
Olivia Warner
For the past four years, Ringgold senior Olivia Warner has served – pun intended – in the No. 1 position on the Lady Rams girls tennis team, accumulating a section record of 49-7 and advancing to the WPIAL girls tournament during her junior and recently completed senior seasons, when she served – yes, pun intended again – as team captain.
Last year, as a junior, Warner became the first Ringgold female tennis player to advance to the WPIAL tournament since Ronica Milton in 1981, when she played alongside current Trinity coach Lane Stoner in mixed doubles.
But those tennis honors pale in comparison to the honor Warner will receive as one of 122 candidates who will be presented Nov. 25 with the Joan of Arc Medallion by Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh at the 53rd Medallion Ball at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown. To qualify for the honor, a candidate must perform more than 150 hours of volunteer service.
St. Lucy’s Auxiliary to the Blind has annually sponsored the event since 1964 to celebrate and honor “the young ladies who have completed the junior medallion program successfully by making valuable contributions to their community through their unselfish efforts in performing volunteer service,” according to St. Lucy’s website.
In her role as volunteer, the majority of Warner’s 150-plus hours were spent with the U.S. Tennis Association Youth Development Player program, said Roseanne Wholey, Medallion Ball publicity chairwoman. In addition to her hours with the tennis program, Warner earned volunteer hours as a bingo caller at Strabane Woods of Washington during her freshman and sophomore years, when her grandmother lived at the assisted living center.
Warner, who enrolled in the program when she was in the eighth grade, said the honor “demonstrates not only the hours I volunteered with the tennis association, but shows that I was and am willing to volunteer and offer my time to assist others.”
“I enjoyed every hour of my volunteer service, and this did not feel like a job,” she said. “Instead, it was something I wanted to do. All the hours I spent volunteering were more than worth the time.”
Warner’s hours with the USTA Section Training Center included her role as ball person, which includes feeding tennis balls to players on the court, and assisting novice ball persons in learning and developing their roles. Additionally, she instructed younger tennis players about not only improving on the court, but also about their approach to the sport and the mental aspects of tennis.
However, Warner’s service in helping others also extended to the tennis courts at Ringgold, said Sara Sally Phillips, Lady Rams tennis coach.
“Olivia is kind, helpful, always positive and always encouraging other players,” Phillips said. “She follows directions and is very dedicated. She plays against anyone and everyone on the team, regardless of their number or position, and always gives 100 percent. She has been a pleasure to work with and coach.”
Evidenced by her won/lost record, Warner, daughter of Ken and Jan Warner of Eighty Four, has been the core of the Lady Rams for four seasons, Phillips said. “Olivia holds it all together. She is quick, with a good forehand and backhand, and she is smart on the court.”
St. Lucy’s Auxiliary was founded in 1957, and its mission, according to the website, is to encourage and inspire a lifetime commitment of volunteer service in young women. Qualified candidates are honored with the Joan of Arc Medallion, while raising money for the visually impaired at Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh. The Medallion Ball is the primary fundraiser for BVRS.
“All the hours I put in have been worth the time and effort,” Warner said. “This is a great award. I like to think volunteering and assisting with the USTA and at the nursing home have made a positive impact on those people I helped. Working with both programs and assisting others in various ways has taught me valuable leadership skills. In providing direction and assisting inexperienced ball persons at the STC training center, those younger ball persons looked up to me for my leadership and willingness to assist them.”
Dr. Deb Hazlett, USTA volunteer, said that Warner’s dedication and service earned her district recognition, plus Allegheny Mountain District and the Middle States Section Junior Volunteer of the Year awards for 2014.
Hazlett said Warner also has been an assistant ball person manager since 2014 for the USTA Men’s Futures of Pittsburgh Pro Circuit Tournament held at the Mt. Lebanon Tennis Center in early July, and an assistant instructor since 2013 for a training program for junior competitors, ages 10 to 13.
“Olivia is a bright young lady, a wonderful mentor for young people, a great role model for them and a quality player,” Hazlett said. “She cares about everyone. I have watched her from a young age grow and mature.”
Warner’s involvement with tennis came when she was 10, when her father introduced her to the sport.
“My dad played for fun, but tennis is a passion of his, and he passed that passion on to me,” Warner said.
Then it was on to USTA tournaments and eventually the varsity at Ringgold. She plans to attend Slippery Rock University and major in computer science to become either an app developer or computer programmer. She also plans to continue her tennis career at SRU.
As much as tennis is a passion, so, too, is music, and Warner has performed in Ringgold’s school musical productions since the eighth grade, when she was Ursula in “The Little Mermaid.” She followed as Terk in “Tarzan,” Laura in “Back to the ’80s” and last year was the Stepmother in “Cinderella.”