One of the founders of the booster club, Natalie Genco, said the banquet was created to inspire students to do well academically and not just athletically.
"We do a great job celebrating kids who do well in sports, but we don’t do nearly enough for those who excel in academics," she said. "And I think if we acknowledged those kids who are excelling in the classroom more it would probably get more kids encouraged."
In its third year, Genco said the banquet has grown tremendously with tickets selling out in days.
"I really think we are onto something special," she said.
This year's banquet was held May 25 at the Colleyville Center and honored more than 100 students. Awards given out were from several different categories: peers' choice, best performing, mentor awards and teachers' choice.
The banquet also featured two speakers: Jeremy Smith, who is a Grapevine High School graduate and holds the record for the most AP tests taken in the district; and Al Hrubetz, a Dallas geophysicist, oilman and president of Hrubetz Oil Co., who has traveled the globe exploring for oil. His recently published memoir, “A Geophysicist’s Memoir: Searching for Oil on Six Continents,” details how he scraped his way through college, earned his way into the energy industry and began an uncharted adventure in pursuit of oil around the world.
"Our speakers were TED-style speakers," Genco said. "I think the theme of it was don't be afraid to fail; just keep fighting, and never give up."
