The 11^th annual Kentucky New Era and Rotary Regional Academic All-Star Team awards and recognition ceremony took place tonight and was held at Hopkinsville Community College.

About 104 students from area middle and high schools were recognized for their academic achievements during the ceremony.

The guest speaker of the event was Hopkinsville native, Raymond Burse, who earned a degree from Centre College and studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England and later earned a law degree from Harvard Law School.

Burse offered words of encouragement and stressed the importance of getting an education to hundreds of area students and their families.

Burse also stated that without an education, an individual would struggle throughout life.

The Academic All-Stars Awards ceremony recognizes area middle and high school students for their academic excellence with program, which first began in 2003, recognizing about 1,000 students with over $100,000 in scholarships.
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