Rotary Club honors 28 scholar-athletes from west-central Illinois

Twenty-eight high school student-athletes from west-central Illinois were recognized in Jacksonville on May 5, a hometown ceremony that put academics and athletics on the same stage. The Rotary Club of Jacksonville’s Scholar-Athlete Awards spotlight students who have managed practices, travel, homework and high expectations at once.

The annual banquet has become a steady marker of community pride in Jacksonville and beyond Morgan County. Rotary says the honor goes to seniors recommended by school administrators and coaches, and it is meant to recognize leadership as well as athletic achievement and academic excellence during a student’s high school career.

Each honoree received a plaque, and a brief biography was read aloud at the banquet along with future plans, giving the night a college-prep feel as much as a sports banquet. Parents and principals were invited, adding a public thank-you to the students whose work usually happens far from the spotlight.

For west-central Illinois schools, the event also underscores how closely classroom performance and athletic success are tied to local identity. The Scholar-Athlete program draws from more than 20 area high schools, and Rotary has used the Jacksonville banquet to bring those students together in one place, with the city serving as a hub for surrounding communities.

The scale of the program has stayed remarkably consistent. Rotary recognized senior students from 27 schools in 2023, 28 students in 2024 and 29 students in 2025, a pattern that shows the award has settled in as a regional tradition rather than a one-time recognition. The club says it has held the Scholar-Athlete Banquet for a decade, with no banquet in spring 2020 because of COVID-19, though students were still recognized that year.

Rotary’s own materials say the 2024 banquet was held at Hamilton’s 110 North East in Jacksonville, with retired SHG head football coach Ken Leonard listed as the dinner speaker. That mix of school names, coaches and local venues gives the program a familiar reach across west-central Illinois, while keeping its center in Jacksonville.

The club describes itself as a service organization committed to improving lives through service projects and fundraising, and the Scholar-Athlete Awards fit that mission well. In a season when school communities often get attention only for scores or standings, the banquet offered something quieter but just as lasting: a public record that the region still rewards students who lead in the classroom and on the field.