On the night of Wednesday, November 13th, a ceremony commemorating the new members of the Minnesota Honor Society was held in the Cannon Falls High School auditorium. During this program, nine juniors and two seniors were initiated into the organization. Now, the Minnesota Honor Society has a total of twenty-one students that attend Cannon Falls High School. Kristina Allen, Chris Baszuro, Makayla Bowen, Emma Conway, Owen Edstrom, Blake Hernke, Julia Jarvi, Zoe Jesh, Brianna Johnston, Emma Louwagie, Lindsey Miest, Vanessa Peer, Lily Park, Cooper Peterson, Amelia Qualey, Rhett Schaefer, Ryan Schlichting, Ellie Stodden, Gavin Stodden, Saundra Stodden, and Isaiah Wildenberg make up the members of the 2019-2020 Minnesota Honor Society. Keith Meyers, a resident of Cannon Falls, started the night off by introducing these students to the audience filled with loved ones. After he recognized these honorable juniors and seniors, he passed the microphone to his younger brother, Dan Meyers, a math teacher and varsity football coach for Cannon Falls. 

As the guest speaker of the night, Mr. Meyers delivered a motivating and encouraging speech to these young adults about his personal experience at Cannon Falls High School. He incorporated how he balanced both his academic needs with his athletics commitments into his thoughtful message to the students. Throughout his speech, he also explained that initially he didn’t know what to pursue after highschool; however, he emphasized how his two main passions of football and math led him to his perfect career of being a teacher and a coach. When Mr. Meyers finished inspiring the audience with his words of wisdom, four second-year members of this academic club approached the stage and spoke on the standards that students need to uphold in order to be a part of this organization. 

Ryan Schlichting, the President of the MHS at Cannon Falls, explained the aspects of knowledge and scholarship that apply to Minnesota Honor Society members. Cooper Peterson, an involved participant in this organization, then talked about how leadership is another important characteristic of MHS students. The Secretary, Vanessa Peer, followed Peterson’s lead by expressing the value of service. Peer stated, ”Volunteering is the most rewarding part of the Minnesota Honor Society. It allows me to give back and positively impact the lives of other people in my community. The school blood drive is my favorite volunteer event that I participated in as a member of this society last year.” Finally, Emma Conway, the Historian, added that character is another area that students are tested on before they are brought into this organization. When asked about how she would continue to be a good role model for this organization, Conway expressed, “I will follow in former generous, wise, and empathetic students’ footsteps.” After these individuals wrapped up their summaries on the qualities expected of MHS students, Kirsten Hoffman and Deb Klegin, the advisors of this society, called the new members up onto the stage while giving background knowledge on them. Once all of the eleven new representatives of the society were introduced, they made their induction official through stating a pledge. Shortly after, the ceremony concluded and refreshments were served in the atrium. 

Throughout this whole year, these Minnesota Honor Society inductees will volunteer their free time to help out the community. They will be starting their journey of giving back on November 22nd and 23rd by participating in the annual Feed My Starving Children event. A week later, some of these students will ring the bell for the Salvation Army on November 30th. On that same day, other members will also be involved in the Deck the Falls parade. In December, this group will continue to donate their time by counting food items for the local food drive at the elementary. During the spring, these members will conclude their volunteer work with the school blood drive that occurs on March 3rd in the IMC. It will certainly be a busy and rewarding year for these folks.