Rotary Awards Students at Banquet

The Toccoa Rotary Club held the Top 5 Banquet last night at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center.

Twelve Stephens County high school seniors that were the top 5% in grade point average during their four school years were honored with a video and presented with $1000 scholarships from the Rotary Club.

The students receiving scholarships included:

Nikko Beady- son of Russell and Jan Cheek
Olivia Bladowski-daughter of Christopher and Suzanne Bladowski
Alexander Blakely-son of Scott and Stacie Green
Daniel Brock-son of Dennis and Katrena Brock
Mallory Colwell-daughter of Chris and Lennia Colwell
Monique Gautreaux-daughter of the late Maria Gautreaux and Raymond and Monica Howard
Michael Neill- son of Ronald and Amarylin Neill
Ashkar Patel-son of Paresh and Chetna Patel
Jacob Stroud-son of Scott and Kim Stroud
Bethany Watkins-daughter of Chris and Nita Watkins
Chase Wilbanks-son of Ricky and Janet Wilbanks
Cora Wright-daughter of Jonathan and Fairlight Wright

The guest speaker for the night was Dr. John Delaney, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students at the University of North Georgia, who encouraged the graduates to invest and get to know the school they attend, and don’t be afraid of failure “I cannot overestimate the concept of resiliency. We all fail, bottom line, and if you fail well you have learned. So we all learn and learning the hard way is not a fun experience, but it can be a lasting experience for you.”

The top 5 students in grades 6-11 were also recognized:

6th Grade- Candace Moore, Ava Champion, Carissa Smith, Gurleen Kaur, and Addison Colbert

7th Grade- Sailor Ott, Aurora Elrod, Isabelle Arnold, Garvin Robinson, Olivia Goss, and Margaret Vena.

8th Grade- Chloe Juday, Ethan Cross, Grady Sanders, Tina Vu, Ellen Lingle, and Olivia Isaacs.

9th Grade- Donovan Sidney Jones, Carrie Elizabeth Keown, Kathryn Ann Stroud, Erin Faith Terrell, and Erin Kate Whitfield.

10th Grade- Jacob Isaac Burtt, Arvin Trong Dinh, Seth Michael Jameson, Dawson Alan Burnette Jordan, and Athena Sonia Marie Malek.

11th Grade- Hayley Ann Jordan, Derrick Kyle McCurley, Ashlyn Taylor Merce, Shivani Paresh Patel, and Raelyn Georgia Sanders.