By. Lisa-Marie Haygood 

The Celebration of Education Gala benefiting the Cherokee County Educational Foundation took place on March 7th at the Northside Cherokee Conference Center. The black-tie event was presented by Northside Hospital Cherokee and was filled with more than 400 guests dining on delectable food served by Carrabba's Restaurant and bidding on silent auction items provided by business partners and friends of the Cherokee County School District. 

Pre-function entertainers included Andre Clark of Sixes Elementary School, Ethan Senger, and Kurt Lee Wheeler.  Attendees played games, and were dazzled by performers and speakers from all our Cherokee County High Schools. 

The Foundation was pleased to recognize two outstanding alumni for their contributions to our community following their graduation from a Cherokee County School. This year our honorees were Rebecca Johnston, a 1970 graduate of Cherokee High School who served as managing Editor for the Cherokee Tribune, former manager of our local cable television station, and Manager of WCHK AM radio. Rebecca has authored several publications including "Images of America-Canton", "Cherokee County, Georgia-A History" and "Hometown Holidays". She has long been part of our Cherokee County Historical Society, and is working tirelessly to build a museum of our county's history; while continuing her many years of service with the Service League and Canton Rotary, the Downtown Development Authority. We have been blessed to have Rebecca serve on our Foundation Board as well.

Steve Stancil was also a 1970 graduate of Cherokee High School. He began his career in the US Air Force and served as co-owner of Max Stancil Realty Company. He was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1988, and became the Republican leader in 1992. He was the Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2002, and a dedicated public servant for 28 years. He was appointed by Governor Sonny Perdue and Governor Nathan Deal to serve as the Executive Director of the Georgia Building Authority and State Properties Commission, and the Director of the Georgia Financing and Investment Commission, construction division. He oversaw $4B in projects funded through bonds, and realized close to $100M in state revenue from surplus property sales. He has also served as the head of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, and the Allatoona Preservation Authority.

We at CCEF feel very fortunate to have recognized these two outstanding alum of our great school district, and thank them both for their outstanding service to this community.