The program was held in the Lees College gym and was schedule to begin at 7:00 p.m. I arrived at Lees about 6:30 and went upstairs to register. They are well organized. You get a name tag with a number on it. Then you go downstairs and find the seat that matches your number. It sounds very confusing, but if everyone sits in the correct seat, everyone receives their award in the right order.

The chairs on the floor were filled with students and the bleachers were filled with proud parents and family members. The program began on time and they didn’t waste anytime introducing our guest speaker. The committee always tries to find a speaker that has done great things and is a good role model. This year our guest speaker was Jacob Tamme who played football for the University of Kentucky. I love football and I am so glad that UK has had a couple of real good years. The reason for a lot of that success is because of players like Jacob Tamme. Not only is he a good player, he is also a good student, also. I can’t imagine how hard he had to work to do all the hard practice, play in games and go to class. He is certainly a good role model for all of us. His speech was full of good advice. He told us to believe in our self and not believe people that tell us why we can’t do what we want to do with our life. His talk was short and sweet, and we appreciated that.

Then, it was time for the awards. Over 400 students from Breathitt County from grades 6-12 were awarded certificates for high grade point averages. Many of the students were there to get their awards. We also received medallions and some of the high school students received letters and chevrons. 12 seniors received the Jerry F. Howell Award, indicating that they had maintained at least a 3.8 grade point average for 6 years, from the time they were in 6th grade. That is a great accomplishment. After the awards ceremony, we received t-shirts and some of the students got in line to get an autograph from Jacob. All in all it was a good night. I hope to be there again next year.