LOCAL STUDENTS HONORED

GLASTONBURY, CONN. (May 2015) - High school seniors from Bolton, Central Village, Chaplin, Coventry, Ellington, Hebron, North Grosvenordale, Putnam, Rockville, Somers, Stafford Springs, Storrs, Tolland, Vernon, Willimantic and Woodstock were recognized as the state’s top scholar-athletes at the 2015 Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS)/ Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Scholar-Athlete Banquet sponsored by McDonald’s. This year, McDonald’s Brand Ambassador John Cisna, the Iowa high school teacher who lost nearly 60 pounds eating only at McDonald’s served as the guest speaker at the awards banquet.

A 32-year sponsor of the program with a longstanding commitment to educational programs in Connecticut, McDonald’s joined CAS/CIAC to honor the following local students as the best of the best in the state at an awards ceremony held at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, Conn. on May 3.

• Marissa Gudauskas and Benjamin Phelon, Bolton High School, Bolton
• Katherine Lee and Jonathan Wing, Ellington High School, Ellington
• Jessica Cascio and Timothy Breckel, RHAM High School, Hebron
• Samantha Pruden and Kyle Trusch, Somers High School, Somers
• Kaela Maloney and Matthew Moore, Stafford High School, Stafford Springs
• Siobhan Dale and Justin Vampatella, E.O. Smith High School, Storrs
• Jennifer Jacobs and Eric Goetz, Tolland High School, Tolland
• Haley Hasty and Brett Montminy, Rockville High School, Vernon
• Adrienne Lorange and Brandon Pfeifer, Plainfield High School, Central Village
• Samantha Card and Nicklaus Harrington, Parish Hill Middle/Sr. High School, Chaplin
• Yasmine Forte and Daniel Lawrence, Coventry High School, Coventry
• Julie Szamocki and Eric Magoffin, Tourtellotte Memorial High School, North Grosvenordale
• Lynsay Dashnaw and Jacob Guertin, Putnam High School, Putnam
• Sarah Caldwell and Peter Poirer, Windham Technical High School, Willimantic
• Lindsay Phaneuf and Joseph Fogarasi, Windham High School, Willimantic
• Shaina Blain and Graysen DeLuca, Woodstock Academy, Woodstock

“McDonald’s has been a proud sponsor of the CAS Scholar Athlete Awards for 32 years and each year we are truly amazed by these Scholar Athletes, who thrive in both academic and athletic achievement,” said Scott Taylor, McDonald’s owner/operator and president of the Connecticut and Western Massachusetts McDonald’s Owner/Operator Association.

The Connecticut High School Scholar-Athlete 2015 Awards Banquet is the largest program of its type in the state. Only one male and one female student are eligible for the award through a nomination from their principal for: demonstrating exemplary academic and athletic careers including participating in an interscholastic athletics; possessing personal standards and achievements that are a model to others; exhibiting outstanding school; and community service and carrying themselves with high levels of integrity, self-discipline and courage.

About McDonald’s

The Connecticut and Western Massachusetts McDonald’s Owner/Operator Association is comprised of local McDonald’s restaurant owners who are community and industry leaders. They have a long-standing commitment to supporting educational initiatives and organizations in the communities they serve, including providing resources to promote balanced, active lifestyles to kids and nutritional information for families. For more information, follow us on Instagram or Twitter @McD_CTWMA.

McDonald’s USA, LLC, serves a variety of menu options made with quality ingredients to more than 27 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. Customers can now log online for free at approximately 11,500 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald’s U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter @McDonalds and Facebook www.facebook.com/mcdonalds.
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