Forest City Honors Top Students Forest City Education Foundation held the annual Academic Banquet April

11, 2013, honoring 76 students in grades 9 through 12. More than 250 were present including students, parents, teachers, administrators, Forest City Education Foundation members, and guests. Students received Academic Letters based on fulfillment of two of the following criteria: a student must be in the top 7% of their class; must have an ITED National Percentile Rank of 85 or higher on the Reading Comprehension, Math Total and Science tests; have a composite score on the ACT of 27 or higher; a cumulative 3.6 GPA or higher; and/or attendance of 97% or higher. Keynote speaker, Ken Kleemeier 00, Industry Business Development Manager at Emerson, spoke to students about key characteristics he seeks in potential employees. Kleemeier seeks students who have public speaking experience, international exposure, and participated in athletics. Kleemeier views these extracurricular activities crucial in developing necessary skills, especially when applying for jobs with global organizations. Through these particular activities a person develops public speaking skills, ability to work with different cultures, and the motivation and perseverance to overcome obstacles in the workplace. Superintendent Darwin Lehmann said, This academic banquet is great to recognize the students who deserve it. These are the students who place academics first, and they should be honored. The board members of Forest City Education Foundation are proud to sponsor this annual event and recognize the students who have achieved so much.