Many local residents or natives were honored or recognized for achievements in 2008. Here are some of the year’s top “achievers.”

• Troup High School graduate Elijah Kelley and fellow cast members of the movie “Hairspray” were named best acting ensemble Jan. 7 at the Critics’ Choice Awards in Santa Monica, Calif.

• Cliff Kerby, 90, of La-Grange was inducted into the Georgia Recreation and Park Association’s Hall of Fame in January for his “profound and lasting impact on our organization and profession.”

• LaGrange City Councilwoman Norma Tucker was grand marshal of the Martin Luther King Jr. parade, sponsored in January by Theta Xi Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta sorority.

• On Jan. 20, Meg Greer and Angelyn Traylor are crowned Miss Troup County and Miss Troup Teen, re-spectively.

• Ethel Kight Magnet School PE teacher Cerie Godfrey was named teacher of the year for the 13-state Southern district of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Godfrey was told of the honor at a surprise celebration at the school in January. The district, stretching from Texas to Florida and to Virginia, is the second largest in the national organization. Godfrey spent six year at Hollis Hand Elementary School before switching to Ethel Kight, where she’s spent the past 12 years.

• Troup County’s Teacher of the Year, David Curtis of Callaway High School, was named one of 10 finalists for Georgia Teacher of the Year in February.

• Troup High School senior Stephen Bidwell was named county STAR Student and picked his math teacher, Louise Denney, as STAR Teacher in the annual recognition sponsored by LaGrange Rotary Club.

• NFL football player and LaGrange native Walt Harris opened the Walt Harris Community Resource Centeron Union Street in May. The center provides education and job-skill training for adults.

• Entertainers and La-Grange natives Paula Pitts Broadwater and Tess Malis Kincaid came home to perform a sold-out “Patsy Cline” benefit for the Junior Service League.

• Jay Simmons, dean of LaGrange College, was named president of Iowa Wesleyan College in April.

• Troup High School student Amber Jeter was ap-pointed to the U.S. Naval Academy.

• Lt. Peter Mallory, a naval aviator, was named an Olmstead Scholar, one of the highest educational opportunities for U.S. military personnel.

• LaGrange’s Polly McLeod Mattox and her daughter, Helen Mattox Bost from Atlanta, collaborated to produce the lavishly illustrated book, “Private Gardens of Georgia.” Mattox, an avid gardener and collector of books on gardens, and her daughter, an interior designer collaborated on the research, writing and travel. They viewed about 100 gardens and trimmed the list down to 29 gardens that were featured in the coffee table book.

• The 24th annual Sweet Land of Liberty July 4 parade for youth honored dance teacher and community volunteer Jennie Gordy as grand marshal.

• Sylvia Hooker was tapped as assistant superintendent, curriculum and instruction, with Troup County schools in July, and her boss, Superintendent Edwin Smith, received a doctorate from the University of West Georgia.

• Seven residents of Twin Fountains nursing home were honored for making progress in a GED program started at the facility by social worker Angeline Brooks and taught by Jewell Albright.

• Attorney Jim Baker was named municipal court judge in LaGrange and Hogansville, following the death of longtime judge Robert Whatley.

• Judy Wagner dropped the “interim” from her title and became director of LaGrange Art Museum.

• Local physical therapist Bill Kuerzi officiated at the basketball competition of the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing in September.

• Anna Taylor of Long Cane Middle School won the county spelling bee in October.

• Edward Smith, principal of Hutchinson-Traylor Insurance, was named to Georgia Trend magazine’s “Top 40 under 40,” and SunTrust banker Joe Ragland was tapped for Leadership Georgia.

• Delores Wooley of West Point was honored by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission in October for her work to “save” the West Point depot.

• Dr. Julian Duttera, a LaGrange oncologist, was named Physician of the Year by West Georgia Health System in December.

• Dr. Robert Copeland, a LaGrange cardiologist, and Cathy Wiggins, director of West Georgia Hospice, were named “hospital heroes” by the Georgia Hospital Association.

• The downtown La-Grange Christmas parade, sponsored by the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, honored insurance executive and civic leader Charles Smith as grand marshal.

• Richard Ingram was commissioned Dec. 13 as a second lieutenant in the Army during a graduation and commissioning ceremony at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega. He was the first soldier in the war in Iraq to have a serious combat injury and subsequently earn a commission through the Army ROTC program. Ingram, a 25–year-old La-Grange Academy graduate, was injured by a roadside bomb in 2005 while he was serving with the Alabama National Guard, resulting in his arm being amputated just below his elbow.

• The pool at Griggs Recreation Center was named in honor of Donald Weatherington Sr., longtime swimming superintendent.

• The Woman’s Club of LaGrange celebrated its centennial with a year filled with activities, including a flower show and a special Victorian Christmas at Bellevue.

• LaGrange College music professor Lee Johnson had the world premiere Aug. 1 of his symphony based on the music of the Grateful Dead. The piece, “Dead Symphony No. 6,” was performed by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to rave reviews.

• Humorist Fred Newman, a LaGrange native, collaborated with Johnson to put music to one of his stories as the highlight of this year’s LaGrange Symphony Orchestra’s family concert.

• The LaGrange College Chamber Choir sang at the Vatican during its annual January tour.