The ladies of the Order of Easter Star Chapter 191, the Freemasons of San Saba Masonic Lodge No. 612, and the San Saba Scottish Rite Club, will host the annual Seniors Banquet on Monday, May 3rd. This is the 20th year for the annual occasion, which will be held at the Masonic Lodge Hall, just east of town. A meal of fried fish will be served with freedom fries, hush puppies and beans. Members are asked to please bring a covered side dish, salad, bread or dessert. The honored guests are the graduating seniors of Cherokee and San Saba high schools. Supper will be served at 6:30 p.m. sharp and seniors are asked to be prompt. After the meal, four medals of the Mirabeau B. Lamar Award will be presented.

The Grand Lodge of Texas instituted the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal and Award in 1988 under the direction of Grand Master Graham H. Childress. The award is presented to those deserving high school seniors who have excelled in academic excellence and personal achievement. San Saba Lodge began to award those students, one each, from Cherokee and San Saba high schools at commencement exercises. This continued until 1991, when the award was expanded to recognize a deserving teacher from each school. In that same year the lodge began to host a "senior's banquet" in which all four recipients were presented the medal. The banquet is held each year in May at the lodge hall and a cash scholarship of $1000.00 is given to the student for college expenses.

After the meal a short program will be presented to the senior class. The guest speaker this year is Dr. Jerry S. Casebolt of Liberty Hill, Texas. Dr. Casebolt attended Texas Tech University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, graduating Magnum Cum Laude. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1963-1970 as a Torpedo and Fleet Ballistics Missile Fire Control Technician in the U.S. Submarine Service, first aboard USS Bang SS 385 and later Nathanael Greene, SSBN 636.

He became a Master Mason in 1982, is Past Master of Liberty Hill Lodge $432 and Robert Burns Lodge #227. he holds the Golden Trowel award and is a Masonic Lodge teacher. He is also a 33 member of Scottish Rite, Austin Valley, past Venerable Master and Past Master of the Consistory. He is a member of the York Rite in Austin and a Shriner. He serves as one of the principle Masonic advisors for the four-year old DeMolay Chapter, (Teddy Roosevelt) which currently meets in Round Rock.

He presently serves Austin Scottish Rite as Program and Education Director and leads a very lively discussion group before the regular meeting once a month with the emphasis on Masonic Symbolism.

Each and every high school senior should make plans to attend this special and exciting event as the lodge takes this opportunity to honor and recognize the graduating class of 2010.