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Honoring Kiwanis Memorial Scholarship students
Area's best, brightest receive $2K awards
Kiwanis Scholarship
Statesboro Kiwanis Club President John Banter, at podium, introduced the 2026 class of Kiwanis Memorial Scholarship award recipients. Pictured, right to left, Lillian Palmer, Statesboro High; Addison Smith, Statesboro High; Ashlee Hilario, Statesboro High; Isley Simpkins, Statesboro High; Angelica Halaby, Statesboro High; Charlotte Pagliarullo, Southeast Bulloch High; Kate Anna Newman, Southeast Bulloch High; Adileigh Rountree, Screven County High; Cannon Thompson, Portal High; Adysan Longgrear, Metter High and Erin Stanford, Emanuel County Institute. Not pictured: Yasmine Zambrano, South Effingham High and Ava Follansbee, Richmond Hill High. - photo by JIM HEALY/staff

The Kiwanis Club of Statesboro honored 13 of the best and brightest high school seniors in the area Thursday at the club’s annual Scholarship Luncheon.

Kiwanis President John Banter welcomed the students and their parents and congratulated each on earning a $2,000 Statesboro Kiwanis Memorial Scholarship. The scholarships were created to honor former Statesboro Kiwanis Club members.

“It's great to have a bright future that we can look out and see for all these kids here, Banter said. “We had this year 155 applicants from our area for the scholarship. So, there's a lot of reviews that we read and the students that we have here today are the cream of the crop.

“We look at their academic excellence, their community engagement, the activities that they're involved in at school, Kiwanis connections. That may be being involved in Key Club, it may be showing livestock here at the fair, or having a mini-booth in the past. And we also look at financial need.”

Banter then called up the students, one-by-one, introducing their parents and announcing what college each was planning to attend and their field of study. One of the rules of the scholarship is that funds may be used only to assist for expenses while attending an accredited post-secondary educational institution.

Kiwanis Scholarship
Top row, left to right, Lillian Palmer, Addison Smith, Adysan Longgrear, Erin Stanford, Cannon Thompson and Isley Simpkins. Bottom row, left to right, Adileigh Rountree, Charlotte Pagliarullo, Kate Anna Newman, Angelica Halaby and Ashlee Hilario. - photo by JIM HEALY/staff

Students awarded the Kiwanis Scholarship:

  • Lillian Palmer, Statesboro High, University of Georgia
  • Addison Smith, Statesboro High, Wingate University
  • Ashlee Hilario, Statesboro High, Augusta University
  • Isley Simpkins, Statesboro High, Spelman College
  • Angelica Halaby, Statesboro High, Georgia Tech
  • Charlotte Pagliarullo, Southeast Bulloch High, Georgia Southern
  • Kate Anna Newman, Southeast Bulloch High, University of Georgia
  • Adileigh Rountree, Screven County High, Georgia Southern
  • Cannon Thompson Portal High, Georgia Southern
  • Adysan Longgrear, Metter High School, University of Georgia
  • Erin Stanford, Emanuel County Institute, University of Georgia
  • Yasmine Zambrano, South Effingham High, Vanderbilt
  • Ava Follansbee, Richmond Hill High, University of Georgia