Briarwood Academy Senior Joseph Baldwin was named Gold Medalist Student and selected music director Jeanie Joesbury as his Gold Medalist Teacher at the annual Honors Day program at Briarwood May 5. His parents, Brian and Joann Baldwin, were present for the presentation. Joseph Baldwin of WashingtonWilkes, a senior at Briarwood Academy, was named Gold Medalist Student at the annual Honors Day program for the sixth through twelfth grades held at the school Friday, May 5. He selected music director Jeanie Joesbury as his Gold Medalist Teacher.

Numerous other students from Washington-Wilkes or with Wilkes County connections were also honored at the program.

Joseph was selected Gold Medalist Student by the faculty from a field of 10 eligible senior candidates. The Gold Medalist Student

must be a graduating senior with an academic average of 90 or above throughout his/her high school career or a score of 1000 or above on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Qualities taken into consideration when voting include character, leadership, service, loyalty and punctuality.

Joseph earned the honor of serving as class Salutatorian and delivered the salutatory address at commencement exercises for the Class of 2006 Monday, May 15, at Briarwood.

Briarwood Academy students with Wilkes County connections who received recognition at the 2006 Honors Day include (first row, l-r) Ali Dyson, Amy McGee, Bonnie Bounds, John Bounds, Russell Burdette, Emily Henderson, and Brandy Ray; (second row) Abby McAvoy, Angela Kirkland, Britt Edwards, Liz Grant, Anna Goolsby, Lizzie Keen, Miranda Nelson; (third row) Tyler Edwards, Olivia Lyons, Joseph Batrous, Blake Stitcher, Jackson Lyons, Joseph Batrous, Taylor Stitcher, and Adam Hardy. He is a National Merit semi-finalist, a member of the National Honor Society, and vice-president of the Senior Class.

At Honors Day, Joseph received a scholarship from the Washington Kiwanis Club. He also received a music scholarship from the Briarwood Music Department which presents awards annually to seniors who have participated in four or more musicals during their middle and high school careers at Briarwood. The seniors must have participated in a musical during the junior and senior years to qualify for the award.

Joseph received the Chorus Award which is presented annually to the student who has exemplified the best in and out of the classroom in practice and in performance. He will attend Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on a Northwestern University Scholarship. He plans to earn a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Business Interactions.

Senior Amy McGee, granddaughter of DeLeon and Mary Denard of Washington, was recognized as class valedictorian. She was also recognized for achieving one of the highest academic honors a high school student can receive. She is the recipient of a National Merit Scholarship Award. Only about half of the program's finalists nationally receive awards which are based on SAT scores.

She also received a $500 Georgia Mining Association Scholarship presented annually to assist worthy high school students with college tuition. The recipients must attend school in one of the counties where the companies, which make up the Foundation, have operations.

Senior Blake Stitcher received the Excellence in Citizenship Award sponsored by the State of Georgia through the Secretary of State's office. It is designed to recognize outstanding young Georgians who reach out to help others and share their time and talent within their communities. Blake is the son of Melanie Stitcher of Washington and Cliff Stitcher of Macon.

Junior Bonnie Bounds received the Junior Marshal award which is presented to the junior with the highest academic average through the first five semesters of high school. She also received four awards from colleges and universities for outstanding academic achievement during the junior year of high school. They include the Presbyterian Junior Fellow Award, the University Georgia Certificate of Merit, the Augusta State University Award, and the Erskine Fellow Award from Erskine College in Due West, S.C. She is the daughter of Lincoln and Cindy Bounds.

Joseph Batrous, grandson of Vernon and Jackie Adams of Washington, was one of four junior recipients of the Presbyterian Junior Fellow Award.

Abby McAvoy was selected by the faculty to receive the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership award presented annually to a sophomore. She will attend a conference this summer which is designed to motivate

and develop future leaders, preparing them for positions in their school and community. Abby is the daughter of Roger and Jennifer McAvoy.

Two seventh graders were among the eight Briarwood seventh graders who were presented the Duke Talent Search Award which recognizes seventh graders who excel in verbal recognition and math computations as demonstrated by achieving stated scores on a nationally standardized test. They are Emily Henderson, daughter of Bernie and Mimi Henderson of Washington; and Grace BlackmonHughes, daughter of Linda and Jim Blackmon of Thomson.

Emily also received the Lois McGinty Science Scholarship for Life Science given annually in the amount of $250 to the student with the highest average in Life Science and the highest average in Life Science and Physical Science. Academic Achievement Recognition

awards were presented to the top student in each class taught at the middle and high school levels. The awards are based on academic averages for work completed during the first three nine-week grading periods.

Students receiving certificates include seniors, Joseph Baldwin, Psychology; Amy McGee, Honors English IV, Physics, AP Calculus, Western Civilizaton; juniors, Bonnie Bounds, U.S. History, Advanced Composition; Liz Grant, Honors English III; eight graders, Adam Hardy, Computer; seventh grader Emily Henderson, Math, Science, English/Reading; and sixth grader Brandy Ray, English/Reading, Math, Science, History.

Junior Olivia Lyons was one of four Briarwood choral students selected from candidates in GISA AA and AAA schools to participate in the prestigious GISA All Select Chorus. She is the daughter of Cynthia and Mark Walker.