The Camellia City Civitans paid tribute to some of Greenville's finest young people Monday night at the Boys and Girls Club. The students and their parents were guests at a 7 p.m. supper meeting of the club.

The service organization recognized students from Greenville High School, Greenville Middle School and Fort Dale Academy for excellence in scholarship, leadership and character.

&#8220We wanted to do this when we could get as many of you and your parents together and all have a chance to meet with you,” Civitan President Susan Murphy said.

&#8220We are proud of your children's accomplishments and we know you are proud, too.”

Civitan Johnny Autrey recognized the Civitan Good Citizenship Award winners. One boy and one girl were selected from each of the three schools.

&#8220One of our club's primary goals is to promote good citizenship in our communities, and this is one way we do it,” Autrey said.

&#8220This is a unique award. Your teachers are the ones who pick you for this honor.”

Camellia City Civitan Good Citizenship winners for Greenville High School are Nancy Johnson and Kyle Tanner; for GMS, Lauren Poole and Stewart Moody, and for Fort Dale Academy, Katelynd Branum and Will Bowman.

The names of each of these students were added to plaques that will be displayed in their schools.

&#8220You and your parents are just the kind of people we would love to have join our organization,” Autrey said.

Another GHS student, Kendra Mitchell, was awarded the John Simpson Memorial Scholarship. This is a district-wide scholarship of $1,000.

&#8220Students vie for this from all across the South Alabama – Northwest Florida District of Civitans. Obviously Kendra's application and essay were so good they carried her straight to the top,” Autrey said.

&#8220We believe this is the first time we've had a Greenville student win this honor, and it's a great one.”

Sam Cauthen was recognized as winner of the Civitan Scholarship Award, which totals $1,000 ($500 the first year, renewable for the second year).

Andrew Hartman, winner of the scholarship last year, received a renewal this year.

Five area students – Nancy Johnson, Morgan Till, Mesha Ashley, Joseph Tyler Ray and Vernon Harris – were selected to attend a special leadership conference at Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas this summer.

Nancy Johnson of GHS was present and shared some highlights of her experiences at the event.

&#8220It was a great experience, one that allowed me to build my leadership skills and also challenged me with what is now the motto of my life: ‘If not me, who? If not now, when?'” Johnson said.

&#8220Through the different activities, we learned to overcome obstacles, build teamwork and how to communicate better with one another.”

Johnson, who was chosen to give the closing speech at the event's banquet, said the Harding staff was &#8220awesome.”

&#8220We had a week of fun-filled activities and I want to thank you all for the opportunity to attend the conference.”

Civitan Jimmy Russell asked Johnson and the fellow conference attendees to &#8220talk Harding up” and stimulate interest in more area youth attending the event.

Prior to the meeting and presentations, the Civitans and their guests enjoyed a meal catered by Nannie's Fine Dining.