Members of the Rushville Rotary Club, spouses and other guests gathered March 3 in the Red Gym of Rushville Elementary School to honor the top 10 students in each of the four high school grades at Rushville Consolidated High School.

The annual event, known as the Top Ten Banquet, celebrates the academic achievements of the 10 grade leaders at each level, freshman through senior.

Rotary President Jason Clemmons conducted the meeting, largely following the format of a regular weekly meeting of the Rushville Rotary Club. Rotary meetings are always called to order by the ringing of the Rotary bell. President Clemmons explained to those assembled that the bell was the only item of Rotary gear that was salvaged following the fire at the Park Restaurant, the club's meeting place at the time.

The club's lectern, gavel, banners, members' identification badges and other materials were all lost in the conflagration. President Clemmons said that replacements for the lost items have been ordered and should arrive soon.

The president thanked the local Kiwanis Club for having made a donation to assist Rotary in replacing lost items.

President-elect Pam Leisure led the gathering in the pledge to the flag. Dr. Ralph Mitchell offered the invocation.

President Clemmons welcomed all of the honored guests, including school administrators, students, Rotarian spouses and other guests, and thanked them for their interest and attendance.

Chairperson of the Mystery Person program, Debbie "River Princess" O'Neal, gave a brief explanation of how the "free lunch" program works. Each week, O'Neal selects a person to serve as Mystery Person for that meeting. At the meeting, the designated Mystery Person awards a free lunch to a member of their choice. The award can be made for any reason – or for none at all. The award is made strictly upon the whim of the Mystery Person. On this occasion, Markus Strobl was the Mystery Person and awarded the free meal to Dr. John Williams for his excellent work as chairman of the Top Ten Banquet committee.

Following a delicious dinner, President Clemmons conducted the induction ceremony for two new members, Stephanie Klausing, associated with Wells Fargo bank, and Pam Peggs, associated with Farm Bureau Insurance. The president concluded the induction ceremony by declaring that Stephanie and Pam were "the two newest Rotarians in the entire world!"

Up next was Michelle "Shelly" King, who is in charge of the popular "Brag for a Buck" weekly agenda item. A slight one-night change in the rules encouraged students and parents to offer "brags" with the dollar cost borne by their Rotarian hosts. The regular charge for a brag is $1; the price doubles to two bucks if the brag refers to a school.

Some 24 brags were tendered, by both Rotarians and guests, and Brag Chairman King reported a take of $36 for the club's use in its many civic activities.

The "Brag for a Buck" activity is always followed by the creative fining of various members by Sergeant-at-Arms Dr. John Williams. Fines usually run from 25c to $1; however, Dr. John being in an expansive mood on this gala evening, announced that no fines would be administered.

Dr. John, who wore many "hats" during the course of the evening, then proceeded to the key part of the evening, that being the introduction of all 40 of the honored student guests and their parents.

Each Rotarian host, in turn, was pleased to introduce the guests at his or her table, making brief comments regarding the student's school and/or extra-curricular activities. A prized keepsake of the evening presented to each student is a booklet containing information pertinent to each of the 40 Top Ten students, as well as basic Rotary information. Each student is also presented a very attractive Rotary medallion.

Following the introductions, Dr. Williams, who was program chairman for the evening, introduced Dr. Robert Pychinka, a former Rushville teacher and coach. Dr. Pychinka had a very successful Rushville tenure as coach of the football and wrestling teams. He also administered the local LCC program and served as assistant principal of the Benjamin Rush Middle School.

During his speech, he made numerous references to persons in the audience whom he had known and/or taught during his Rushville years. Following his time in Rushville, he was assistant principal of Triton Middle School until his retirement in 2008.

Dr. Pychinka is a graduate of Indiana State University, where he amassed an enviable athletic record. He was an All-American in wrestling and was a four-year starting linebacker on the ISU football team.

Dr. Pychinka delivered a stirring message to the Top Ten honorees on the theme, "The Road to Success." He told the students that they will have an enormous effect on our nation's culture, economy and its politics.

"What I want to leave you with are tools to achieve success," Dr. Pychinka declared, "and bring you a real world perspective that will allow you to thrive in today's environment."

He suggested that the students not concern themselves with the way things were done "in the good old days," saying that those days are gone, never to return. He told the students that they "are already immersed in change; you live in an incredibly high tech world and it's only going to get more complicated."

According to Dr. Pychinka, "The road to success is a bumpy but exciting journey. In order to reach your destination you will need tools to smooth out your trip. I want to help you construct a toolbox that will guarantee success. Your toolbox should help you to be all that you can be in a full and satisfying life."

"Be prepared to take advantage of opportunities," the speaker said; also, "Learn to work hard both physically and mentally."

Other key principles cited by Dr. Pychinka included taking responsibility for oneself; being respectful of the feelings and rights of others and being clear about one's values, ethics and morals; be persistent and assertive; be resourceful; and develop restraint, meaning the ability to say "no" to things that are "just not right."

Overall all, the thrust of Dr. Pychinka's message to the students was to "never quit, never give up."

The speaker's message was important and delivered in a positive tone that gripped the attention of the audience.

President Clemmons returned to the podium to make closing remarks and so ended another highly successful and satisfying Rushville Rotary Top Ten Banquet.