Bonham -- To 1982 Bonham High School graduate Ben Danner, intellectual enrichment goes far beyond the structured setting of a classroom; it is a way of life.
That philosophy served Danner well as he went on to study one year at Austin College before being appointed to The United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated and went on to a successful career in the military.
U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Ben Danner was the featured speaker at the 2014-2015 Bonham Education Foundation Academic Excellence Awards ceremony held Monday, November 17 at Bonham High School.
Col. Danner served in Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. Military assignments also carried Danner to such diverse locations as Egypt, Alaska and Germany. In fact, Danner was stationed in Germany when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.
Danner 's advice to the students at the awards ceremony was to develop an appreciation of learning that lasts throughout their lifetime.
"It doesn't matter if you receive awards," said Danner. "Lifetime learning is an award unto itself."
Danner singled out fellow '82 graduates Jan Dale Woodruff, Matt Simpson, Brent Williams and Mike Davenport, as well as his father Richard Danner, as examples of people who are committed to a lifetime of learning.
"Once you stop learning, you start dying," Danner remarked. "Once you start living, you are committed to learning."
Class of 2015 Academic Excellence Award recipients:
Abbott, Jennifer
Adams, Colton
Anderson, Alexis
Book, Tyler
Butcher, Nathan
Cruz Mata, Edna
Cryst, Breanna
Dennis, Savannah
Dolberry, Madeline
Foster, Allison
Garcia Renteria, Ana
Gonzalez, Eliud
Griffis, Raymond
Griggs, Daccheous
Guymon, Jacquelyn
Hernandez, Marco
Hill, Caleb
Holcomb-Webb, Kasi
Hoops, Andrew
Jenkins, Monica
Keenan, Steven
Kennedy, Kendall
Knipe, Kayli
Kurus, Nicholas
Lappin, Alexis
Longoria Martinez, Aide
Loredo Galicia, Daniel
Manis, Kenton
Martin, Jacy
McDonald, Troy
McKelvi, Karli
Monroe, Hannah
Nichols, Sidney
Park, Jae
Parsons, Ty
Porter, Madison
Prado, Betsy
Prock, Jared
Rattan, Logan
Roberts, Anthony
Romans, Audra
Sewell III, Kenneth
Smith, Angelica
Solano Salas, Jorge
Steele, Catlin
Stephens, Clay
Voorheis, Nicholas
Watkins, Kelsey
Wells, Madeline
Wood, Chelsea
Class of 2016 Academic Excellence Award recipients:
Guilder, Angel
Babers, Monty
Besch, Alexis
Campbell, Rachel
Carter, Alexandra
Clark, Jimmy
Coldiron, Ty
Colley, Brian
Compton, Jerika
Copeland, Kyle
Davidson, Trevor
Delgado Martinez, Miriam
Edwards, Amanda
Edwards, Megan
Felmet, Haley
Fields, Joseph
Fulmer, Hannah
Galarza, Loraina
Hernandez, Brittania
Hill, Khanezia
Hubenthal, Nicholas
Ibarra Cruz, Sandra
Kissling, Tad
Kissling, Tyce
Lancaster, Carmen
Longoria Cardoza, Jose
Martinez, Airam
McRae, Jesse
Miller, Amber
Nichols, Karen
Orsak, Alexis
Porter, Erika
Porter, Katy
Ramirez, Ashley
Sewell, Deris
Smallwood, Corey
Williamson, David
Wilson, Austin
Woodruff, Ashley
Wynters, Draven
Class of 2017 Academic Excellence Award recipients:
Aranday, Denise
Bewley, Melissa
Buckaloo, Trevor
Cary, Brooke
Chaghani, Anwar Ali
Davis, Romare
Dobbels, Carleigh
Dunigan, Jessie
Easley, Joshua
Escalante Renteria, Atziri
Gainzar,Ruth
Givens, Asia
Hartwell, Corey
Johnson, Grace
Jordan, Clairee
Kirkpatrick, Logan
Lane, Amy
Lappin, Madalyn
Leftrick, Megan
Lemus Martinez, Estela
Martinez, Silvia
McDonald, Evan
Miller, Brandon
Nichols, Brady
Owens, Thomas
Peeler, Jett
Pratt, Shelby
Rodriguez, Francisco
Sacco, Madison
Sewell, Sidney
Simmerman, Austin
Speck, Alayna
Sulley, Kaylen
Torres, Pedro
Trompler, Kade
Watkins, Ashley
Wilson, Evan