Superintendent Award : Lydia MacDavid

CORNWALL — Lydia MacDavid is not a typical eighth-grade student. She is the winner of this year’s Superintendent Award for Cornwall Consolidated School, and certainly  her grades are good and she is involved in plenty of extracurricular activities.

But Lydia was singled out in particular for her compassion, her loyalty and her ability to understand others.

“She really is a very kind, considerate and thoughtful student,� Principal Bob Vaughan commented when asked about her. “And she’s a great defender.�

In conversation, Lydia seems like a typical upbeat teen. She smiles easily and has a sense of humor.

But she glows when asked about how she became the person she is. She credits the closeness of her family, and said her father in particular has been a great influence on her life.

“My dad works with autistic kids, and I do, too,� she said. “That’s I think why I’m kind and loyal. I understand how they feel and I understand their problems.�

She is the daughter of Andrew and Shaun MacDavid.

Lydia also loves music, and plays the flute in the Regional Band and sings alto in the Cornwall Consolidated School chorus and a cappella group. She plays soccer, basketball and softball at Cornwall and swims on a team in the summer. And she somehow still finds time to help autistic and special needs children in summer.

Latest News

Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

Keep ReadingShow less