Banquet

Grace Academy will hold its annual banquet/auction Friday, Feb. 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cortland Mansion. Tickets are available  by calling Mrs. Hoover at 301-733-2033. The banquet includes dinner, entertainment and hundreds of items available for the silent and live auctions.

Alex Crilley, Lydia Tissue (Hagerstown), Jeffrey McCracken, Abigail Crider, Matthew Wenger and Alyssa Martin are Shalom Christian Academy juniors who attended the senior appreciation banquet April 28. The school's tradition is that the junior class organizes the banquet and a time of remembering for seniors and their parents. This year's banquet was held at the Baker Center at King Street Church in Chambersburg, Pa. The theme of the evening was “Bella Notte.” Italian cuisine was served, followed by a slide show of the seniors' lives over the years.

The Washington County Sports Hall of Fame held its 23rd annual induction ceremonies Saturday at Elks Lodge No. 378 on Robinwood Drive in Hagerstown. Members of the 2009 class were, from left, Gwynn (Gordon) Rodemsky, Rick Knepper, Mike Spinnler and Chris Fox. Seventeen Washington County high school graduates were presented awards or scholarships and numerous civic leaders also were honored at the banquet.

WILLIAMSPORT - Nominations for favorite female athlete must be made by Nov. 1 so those selected can be honored at the annual Williamsport Girls and Women in Sports Day banquet. The event will be held Feb. 8 at the Williamsport Fire Hall. The committee organizing the sports day also is selling lottery tickets. The tickets are for the month of February, and prizes will be given for the three-digit numbers drawn in the evening Maryland Lottery. Funds raised go to scholarships for female athletes from Williamsport-area schools.

Former Major League pitcher Tommy John will take the mound today in a Slo-pitch softball game at Fairgrounds Park in Hagerstown. John, who is in town to speak at the Hagerstown Area Church Softball League banquet tonight at Tri-State Fellowship, will pitch one or two innings for the Tri-State team in a game today at 11 a.m.

Tickets are on sale for the True Grit Award banquet. The banquet will be held at Fountain Head Country Club on May 8, starting at 6 p.m. The True Grit award is presented to student-athletes who might not be the stars of their team, but have overcome some kind of obstacle to remain a member of the team and usually an inspiration to the other players. The guest speaker this year will be Linn Hendershot, a former Hagerstown City Council member. Hendershot, who is confined to a wheelchair from a bout with childhood polio, is director of communications for Western Maryland Hospital Center.

The Hagerstown Community College Hawk Booster Club will host the third annual Irv Easterday Golf and HCC Hall of Fame Tournament on Monday, June 27, at Beaver Creek Country Club in Hagerstown. The tournament is open to the public and will feature a four-person scramble or “Captain’s Choice” format. Cost is $100 per player. Fee includes golf and cart, range balls, gift bag, prizes and banquet dinner. The tournament begins at 1 p.m. and the banquet dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Following the banquet, an induction ceremony will be held for the 2011 HCC Hall of Fame inductees.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The annual appreciation banquet for on-call chaplains and lay pastoral caregivers was held on Nov. 15, at Chambersburg Hospital, where 42 volunteer pastoral care providers were honored. The community clergy serve as chaplains-on-call, who respond to emergency calls at nights and on weekends. Assistant chaplains perform follow-up patient visitation. The lay people have completed 10 weeks of intensive training in pastoral care in a hospital setting and six months of practicum and supervision.

Maryland State Grange offering annual scholarship The Maryland State Grange is offering its annual scholarship to deaf or hearing-impaired students or students who are preparing to work with hearing-impaired persons. The applicant must be one of the following: a resident of Maryland, a Maryland high school graduate or attend a college in Maryland. For more information and/or the scholarship criteria and guidelines, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Donna D. Wiles, Deaf Activities Director, Maryland State Grange, 5543 Buffalo Road, Mount Airy, MD 21771.

Washington County Public Schools will be recognized as one of two area School Districts of Character at the first annual Benefit Awards banquet of the Washington County Character Counts! Coalition on Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. at the Four Points Sheraton in Hagerstown. Four schools and three students from the school system will also be recognized as Schools of Character and Students of Character. "We are pleased to honor Washington County Public Schools and to highlight specific school and students for their involvement in the Character Counts!