The Rotary Club of San Saba will host their 27th Annual Honor Student Banquet on Thursday, May 14 at the San Saba Civic Center. The banquet recognizes every high school student in the three county high schools that have maintained a 90 or better grade point average for this academic year. Those students will be presented a medal for academic excellence. In addition, seniors that have qualified in all four years will be presented a shadow box in which they can display their medals.

The Club will be presenting a scholarship to a senior from each school that has been a four-year honor student and who shares the Rotary Club’s commitment to community service.

Tory Gant will be the keynote speaker for the banquet. Tory, the PAL® Training Director and Marketing Coordinator, comes with an extensive background in youth development and peer mediation.

PAL® Peer Assistance and Leadership began in 1980 as a “peer helping” program, combining “peer assistance” and “peer leadership” strategies originally developed in the late 1970’s. Over the last fifteen years, WAP has significantly enhanced and expanded these basic prevention strategies, evolving the PAL® peer helping program from an informal, extra-curricular activity in a single school district, into a formally structured, curriculum-based program, adopted by the Texas Education Agency as an accredited elective course. Because of its reputation for effectiveness and efficiency, over 750 school districts throughout Texas have requested services from PAL® Services WAP, Inc., and WAP has documented substantiated PAL® peer helping programs in over 1000 elementary, middle and high schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.

Tory’s educational background comes from extensive study in psychology at Lubbock Christian University and his training as an ordained minister. As a youth director, Tory spent seven years doing outreach on the streets of the Austin, Texas area where he accomplished such things as helping gang members to overcome their destructive lifestyles. This outreach required developing relationships with these troubled teens and in a sense, becoming “family” to them. Through his efforts, several gang members were transformed into positive role models. He has also spent countless hours feeding the homeless and sharing hope with those who were seemingly hopeless.

Tory has ten years experience in facilitating peer leadership, low ropes course and peer mediation to at-risk students. He has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences and in-school youth development groups across the Nation. His unique style of speaking brings humor as well as drama to his presentations. He endeavors to instill joy, and more importantly, a sense of value to his audience.

In addition, The Four Way Test Award will be presented to a non-Rotarian community member that displays the ideals of Rotary in their community life. The “Four Way Test”, “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build good will and better friendship? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”, is the set of ideals which all Rotarians strive to exemplify in their business lives.

Also recognized at the banquet will be “Rotarian of the Year”. This year’s honoree is a club member with a long family heritage in the community and the club.

All qualifying students will receive an invitation either in the mail or through their school administration office. Students are the guest of the club. Parents, family, friends, teachers and administrators are invited. The cost of the meal for non students is $10.00. Serving starts at 6:30 p.m.