20th B-B-E Graduation Held
The 20th class of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa graduated on Sunday, with the annual commencement ceremonies held at the high school gymnasium. A packed crowd was on hand for the 68 graduates of 2008.
After Pastor Dan Hermanson's opening prayer, graduate Brent Gregory gave a Senior Class speech with enjoyable anecdotes and bits of advice for his fellow classmates.
Salutatorian Brett Landwehr then gave his speech, marked by an ending quote saying, "Life smiles at us, all we have to do is smile back," in a sign that life is what we make of it, good or bad.
Valedictorian Lindsay Goodwin's speech was filled with highlights from their K-12 school career. She cited very humerous stories about classmates Josh Roelike, Jordan Beier, and Jesse Wold, and noted a handful of times when the class drove B-B-E teachers crazy.
The Outstanding Senior Female Award was then given. This award is based on strength of character, scholastic achievement, history of service in and out of school, and leadership in classroom and co-curricular activities. Lindsay Goodwin was honored with this award, and will be attending Concordia-Moorhead this fall.
The Greg Mohs Memorial Award was given to Brent Gregory. This award is given based on scholastic achievement, participation in athletics throughout the student's high school career, along with leadership skills displayed in grades 9-12.
High School Principal Matt Bullard then gave a self-proclaimed "no-nonsense" good-luck speech. Mr. Bullard told the class to make the most of their work ethic, as that gives the first impression in the work place. He noted that successful people are not lucky, they create it themselves. His final note was for graduates to "Discover your passion, and foster your passion through your career."
Mr. Bullard's parting quote summed the ceremony up nicely, "If there's no passion in your life, then you haven't really lived."
Pastor Hermanson gave the final prayer, noting the graduating class's "desire to serve the world. They have blessed our community, now they can be a blessing to God's world."