Laynie Hasan, Formerly Known as Elayne Mitchell, Recognized as NSHSS Member

Leadership roles in 4-H and Air Force JROTC

Contemporaneous records document a progression of youth leadership roles. In South Leesburg Scholars 4-H, Mitchell served as club president and treasurer, led project-book meetings and community-service planning, and represented the county Teen Leadership Council as a reporter and officer. By age 13, she was in her sixth year of 4-H and her second year as a Teen Leadership Council officer.

300 hours of community service

Across her 4-H, school, and community activities, Mitchell completed 300 hours of service. Her work included projects with and benefiting One Heart for Women and Children, Buses n’ Backpacks, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Florida, Operation Shoebox, the Friday Night Feeding program at Minneola Alliance Church, and local park-cleanup efforts, among other organizations and projects.

Her roles went beyond attending events. Records from the period show her coordinating meetings, planning service projects, organizing meal contributions, and helping younger members take part.

Hasan’s adoptive sister, Alexandria Mitchell-Pressman, also contributed substantial community-service time alongside her through South Leesburg Scholars 4-H and participated in the Ronald McDonald House visit pictured below. Her public professional profile also documents extensive personal service advocating for children as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem. Mitchell-Pressman now works as a marketing assistant at Kaye Publicity, a literary public relations agency.

Leesburg High School AFJROTC program record

Mitchell served in Leesburg High School Air Force JROTC unit FL-041 during a period of visible community involvement. The program’s public 2016 record documents cadets participating in the Leesburg Main Street Christmas Parade, the LHS Homecoming Parade, Veterans Day observances, Wreaths Across America, an AMVETS Vietnam veterans dedication, a Flightless Honor Flight event, and a Kitty Hawk Air Society cleanup at Dixie Lake.

Cadet leadership, logistics, and ceremonial service

Within her first year, Mitchell advanced to Cadet Technical Sergeant and became the unit’s Logistics NCO. She organized the uniform inventory, retrieved uniforms from students who no longer needed them, fitted and issued uniforms to cadets, ordered engraved name tags, and gathered earned ribbons and promotion insignia for presentation to cadets.

During her second year, she used a teacher-assistant period to help incoming freshmen learn marching, formation, inspection, and drill protocols. Her ceremonial service included POW/MIA observances, flag-folding ceremonies, and flag-retirement ceremonies with veterans in The Villages, Florida.

Mitchell also performed early-morning flag duty at Leesburg High School. When Major Christopher Honeycutt relayed official half-staff orders, she reported to campus around 6 a.m., before students arrived, to raise the flag and lower it to half-staff.

The same school archive records educational and service activities including a Kennedy Space Center trip, Education Day at the Lady of the Lakes Renaissance Faire, and the Mistletoe Trot 5K supporting the Community Medical Care Center in Leesburg.

Mistletoe Trot charity 5K

Mitchell competed in the Mistletoe Trot charity 5K and placed third in her age-and-gender division. The event benefited the Community Medical Care Center in Leesburg.

One of Mitchell’s instructors, Master Sergeant Craig Morris, received the 2016 AFJROTC Outstanding Instructor Award. Lake County Schools identified Morris as its only representative to receive the honor that year. In the unit’s announcement, Morris credited Senior Aerospace Science Instructor Major Christopher Honeycutt for nominating him.

Academic achievement at Leesburg High School

Hasan’s school record shows a 132.5% A+ in Air Force Aerospace Science at Leesburg High School. Hasan says the result established the LHS record for the highest grade in the course.

Her performance on the 2016–2017 Florida statewide assessment also earned recognition from then-Governor Rick Scott, who sent her a letter congratulating her on the achievement and encouraging her to continue her work in school.

Early news coverage

In its October 19, 2016 story about Eric Trenholm, Daily Commercial published “Disabled Leesburg teen takes stand for flag”. Mitchell participated in the same parade as a member of the Leesburg High School Air Force JROTC color guard, carrying the Florida state flag.

Disabled Leesburg teen takes stand for flagDaily Commercial · October 19, 2016Read the original story