When her dad encouraged her to consider an available sponsorship for the role of the Strassenbash Community Ambassador, Sophia Buck wasn’t aware she was in the running for a title.The Wright City freshman saw an opportunity to serve her community and pursued it.“I honestly didn’t understand what was going on when I joined,” said Buck. “My dad knew there was a sponsor looking for a candidate and asked me if I wanted to try it. He just told me it involved doing some community service, which I was open to.”On Saturday, she found herself being named the first-ever Community Ambassador of the Year during the annual Strassenbash celebration at the Wright City Lions Club. The title replaced that of the traditional Strassenbash Queen, and that was just fine with Buck.“That was my upside to this,” said Buck. “There were no dresses or crowns involved, so I was good with it.”Buck joined four other contestants throughout the summer, serving the Wright City community in a variety of ways. They worked alongside community business leaders to build a thorough resume, develop leadership skills and explore ways to make a difference in their neighborhood.Buck said service and volunteering are a natural part of her personality.“I help out at kindergarten summer school and horse camps and love to serve in that way,” said Buck. “In the beginning I didn’t realize it was a competition. I just thought it was a way for me to do community service, and that was exciting.”The ambassador group volunteered with a school supply drive in early August, helping disperse backpacks and other necessities for area youth.“That experience was amazing, because we covered half a pavilion’s worth of school supplies,” said Buck. “It was huge. It was awesome to see how many people were willing to participate and to get help.”As the winner of the ambassador contest, Buck received a $1,500 scholarship.Two other contestants also received scholarships, with Katlyn Guthrie being chosen second and Kaelyn Wegrzyn placing third.The winners were chosen based on their volunteerism and commitment by three judges from outside of the community. Ambassador program co-coordinator Heidi Halleman said each contestant demonstrated tremendous leadership and dedication to their community.“All five of them are great community representatives and we expect that all five will continue to serve their community,” said Halleman.This year’s ambassador program came together quickly, with an idea in the early spring. Halleman is hopeful with advance planning that candidates will have more opportunities to serve and gain experience working with community leaders.“We liked how things went, but we would like to get started earlier so the kids can hopefully have more than four months and can do more community outreach, because that’s what it’s all about.”

Sophia Buck, right, was named the first-ever Wright City Strassenbash Community Ambassador of the Year on Saturday evening at the Wright City Lions Club. Buck received a $1,500 scholarship as part of the program, which focused on commitment and volunteering in the community. With her is Buck’s sponsor, Jenn Olivio of Town and County Garage. 

Record photo/Derrick Forsythe