• Air Force Senior Airman Christopher B. Tafoya has arrived for duty at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Anchorage, Alaska.
Tafoya, an aerospace propulsion technician with three years of military service, is assigned to the 3rd Wing.
He is the son of Steve Tafoya of Fayetteville, Ga., and Debbie Yelvington of Griffin, Ga. The airman is a 2001 graduate of Griffin High School.

• Kento Masuyama of Peachtree City is one of 2,100 additional winners of Merit Scholarship awards financed by colleges and universities to have been announced by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC). These Merit Scholar designees join about 2,400 other college-sponsored award recipients who were announced in late May.
Masuyama will attend the Georgia Institute Of Technology and plans to study engineering. Masuyama is a graduate of Starr's Mill High School in Fayetteville.

• D.J. Wright has qualified and been accepted to the U.S. Air Force. Wright qualified for Para Rescuer and will ship out Oct. 10 to Lackland Airforce Base in San Antonio for boot camp. He will then be sent to six areas of the country to complete his special training before being deployed.
He attended Starr's Mill High School where he was on the wrestling team before graduating from South Broward High School. Wright is the son of Sonny and Roberta O'Steen of Senoia.

• Army ROTC Cadet Eric Van Hecke has received the Sons of the American Revolution Award, which is presented to meritorious cadets enrolled in Army ROTC at a college, university or institution.
Junior-level cadets must display the willingness to be a commissioned officer and defend the principles on which our nation was founded, exemplifying the high ideals and principles which motivated and sustained our patriot ancestors. Cadets must be in good standing militarily and scholastically, be enrolled in a 2 or 4-year program, and show a high degree of merit with respect to leadership qualities and abilities, military bearing, and excellence in the ROTC program studies and activities.
The award consists of a ribbon bar and silver medal pendant with a Minuteman holding a rifle.
Van Hecke is the son of Charlie and Lisa Van Hecke of Peachtree City, Ga. and a 2005 graduate of McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, Ga.

• University of the Cumberlands recently announced that Olivia Neeley of Fayetteville, Ga. has been named as a 2006 recipient of the Christian Leadership scholarship. To be eligible for the scholarship an incoming student must demonstrate exceptional Christian service and leadership and be an active member of their church.
University of the Cumberlands, located in Williamsburg, Kentucky, is a private liberal arts college in its 117th year of operation. UC offers four undergraduate degrees in 37 major fields of study, 30 minors and nine pre-professional programs.
Neeley is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Neeley and attends Harp’s Crossing Baptist Church.

• Laura Beth Brooker of Fayetteville has completed the academic requirements to earn a place on the Honor Roll at Brevard College in Brevard, N.C. To be eligible for the Honor Roll, a student must be enrolled full-time and must have earned a grade point average of 3.0 to 3.49 for the semester.
Brevard College was recently named one of the best Colleges and College towns in America by Outside Magazine, among the top Comprehensive Colleges in the South by U.S. News & World Report and a “Champion of Character Institution” by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

• Air Force Airman Matthew S. Sullivan has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations. In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Sullivan earned distinction as an honor graduate. He is the son of Steven Sullivan of Tyrone, Ga. and a 2005 graduate of Sandy Creek High School, Tyrone.

• Ashley E. Smith of Fayetteville, Ga., Jennifer J. Larson and Steven B. White, both of Peachtree City, Ga., were named to the dean's list for the spring 2006 semester at Virginia Tech. To qualify for the dean's list, students must attempt at least 12 credit hours graded on the A-F option and earn a 3.4 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) during the semester. Smith is a sophomore majoring in human nutrition, foods and exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Larson is a sophomore majoring in marketing management in the Pamplin College of Business. White is a junior majoring in aerospace engineering in the College of Engineering.

login to post comments