TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Katerri Johnson, City Clerk's Office
THROUGH: Mark R. Lauzier, City Manager
DATE: January 16, 2018
Title
PRESENTATION & PROCLAMATION FOR JACKSON DESTINE, JR. WHO WAS HONORED FOR WINNING THE 2017 WENDY'S HIGH SCHOOL HEISMAN SCHOLARSHIP.
Body
Background:
The Wendy’s High School Heisman Scholarship was created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas in 1994. Dave Thomas dropped out of high school when he was 15 years old in order to work full-time. While this nontraditional path led to his prosperity, it always worried Dave that others would expect to achieve similar fame and wealth by not finishing high school or attending college. Faced with this dilemma, at 61 years old, Dave took the required classes to earn his General Equivalency Diploma (GED) and was honored at a ceremony at Coconut Creek High School. The senior class of 1993 embraced their honorary classmate by inviting Dave and his wife Lorraine to the senior prom and voting him “Most Likely to Succeed.” Inspired by his desire to celebrate the outstanding achievements of youth in America, he launched the Wendy’s High School Heisman program.
The Wendy’s High School Heisman Award seeks to recognize all types of high-achieving seniors from more than 29,000 public and private high schools throughout the United States. To achieve award eligibility, 1) Students must be seniors during the 2017-2018 academic year, 2) Graduate with the class of 2018, 3) Maintain a cumulative high school grade point average (GPA) of a B (3.0) or better 4) Be a leader in school and in the community and serve as a role model for underclassmen and 5) Participate in at least one of the 47 sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games or the National Federation of State High School Association and sponsored by their local school.
There are three (3) scholarship levels which are: 1) State Winners - $1,000 Scholarship, National Finalists - $5,000 Scholarship and the National Winner - $10,000 Scholarship. You must be recognized as one of the State Winners to be considered as a National Finalist and you must be recognized as one of the National Finalist to be considered for the National Winner. There is one senior male and female from each state awarded State Winners. Then a judging panel selects 10 National Finalists (5 females and 5 males) from the State Winners who then compete for National Winner (1 female and 1 male) award.
Our very own, Jackson, Destine, Jr., Delray Beach resident and student from Atlantic Community High School achieved the highest possible scholarship as the male National Winner. In addition to winning a $10,000 college scholarship as the National Winner, he also received national honor and recognition during ESPN's national telecast of the college Heisman Memorial Trophy presentation, a Wendy’s High School Heisman Trophy and a Wendy’s High School Heisman National Winner Patch.
Jackson is now a member of the Heisman family and will be invited to attend Heisman week every year as an alumnus.
City Attorney Review:
N/A
Finance Department Review:
N/A
Funding Source/Financial Impact:
N/A
Timing of Request:
N/A