Academic Awards Banquet 2008

The 18th Annual Senior Academic Awards Banquet was held the evening of Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at New World Landing. I was honored to be invited to attend this uplifting celebration of academic achievement in Escambia County. I would like to congratulate all of the students on their very impressive achievements, and I also want to congratulate all of the parents of these students. I would also like to personally thank the sponsors of this event, the law firm of Kerrigan, Estes, Rankin, McLeod and Thompson and also the Foundation for Excellence in Education. This idea of an Academic Awards event was conceived nearly twenty years ago by Mr. Kerrigan and other local educational supporters in Escambia County who lamented the fact that at that time Athletic Achievement was recognized by the community, but not Academic success. The idea was brought to life shortly thereafter and Mr. Kerrigan and his firm have been the principal sponsors of this event every year for the past 18 years. To date, this event has individually recognized more than 3,650 Escambia County students.

Bob Kerrigan hosted the event which spotlighted the top academic achievers in foreign language, english, math, science, social studies, and career and vocational education from each school. The event also identified the top five highest GPA earning students at each Escambia County High School. In addition to this, the County's National Merit Finalists were individually recognized, and the Pensacola High School IB program had eight of them. Very Impressive.

The way the ceremony went, each school's principal called their students up individually, and then gave a short narrative about that student and their future academic plans. I enjoyed hearing about all of the fantastic schools that our 2008 Escambia County High School Graduates will be attending next fall. Some of the schools mentioned included the following: MIT, Harvard, Yale, West Point, Naval Academy, Florida State, University of Florida, Auburn, Alabama, University of Hawaii, University of Colorado, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida. To all of the students and parents recognized this evening, congratulations and good luck with your future plans!