Honor Students Honor students from the BRHS Class of 2003. From left to right, Michele Barter, Emily Dorwart, Lydia Cole, Janna Hutchins, Emily Brunell, Erika Benner, Katelyn Brewer and Allison Cole. (Photo Desiree Scorcia)

The Tugboat Inn was the setting for this year's Coastal Club Honors Luncheon - an annual event hosted by the coastal club to honor the top students from each year's high school graduation class.

Michele Barter, Erika Benner, Katelyn Brewer, Emily Brunell, Allison Cole, Lydia Cole, Emily Dorwart and Janna Hutchins were invited to enjoy lunch with the Coastal Club this year. Each girl will graduate from Boothbay Region High School with a cumulative average of 90 or better.

The luncheon opened with a welcome address by Coastal Club president George Fotos and an invocation by the Rev. Robert Zimmerli, who emphasized that the day's luncheon was a celebration of the girls' achievements.

"Sometimes we read so much about the negative, that we don't think about the positive," Zimmerli said.

For the eight young guests of honor, there is a lot to feel positive about.

In the fall, they will attend colleges and universities such as the University of Maine at Orono, Brigham Young University, and Wellsley College. And one young woman will spend a year traveling before she begins her studies.

Superintendent Eileen King also addressed the students and coastal club members.

"We are honoring eight outstanding seniors who represent a talented group of students," said King.

"They are students of exceptional character, who have the wisdom and strength to know and do the right thing in the face of temptation," she said.

King also had some words of wisdom for the young ladies.

"Remember that what lies before you and what lies behind you are tiny matters compared to what lies within you," she said.

"We wish you health, happiness, and peace."

Following King's address, John Heyl presented the graduates with a copy of Harold Clifford's 1906 to 1960 history of the Boothbay Region.

The luncheon closed with a benediction from the Rev. Mary Jo Zimmerli.