Nine students from Ellwood Christian Academy became the inaugural class of the National Honor Society Feb. 28.

Ronita Brazil, Porsha Crusoe, Cedrica Lucy, Taneisha Witherspoon, Sandretta Thomas, Adrienne Turner, Barry Gorden, Derrick Edwards, and Michael Moore were the juniors and seniors that earned the necessary 3.3 grade point average to be selected.

“Because it is a new school, we had to have SACS accreditation redone,” Dale Bryant, National Honors Society administrator at Ellwood said. “As we got the accreditation, we were given the charter to the National Honors Society which became effective on Sept. 14, 2010.”

The students had to wait until the second semester for induction because they needed grades from Ellwood’s first official semester before choosing members.

“We had compiled all of the grades from their ninth grade year until the previous semester. We just had to wait before we could do it.”

Guest speaker Minister Tonya Chestnut inspired students with a theme of “greatness,” emphasizing examples of Selma natives who have done and continue to do great things for our community and for our nation.

“You, in being Ellwood Christian Academy’s first National Honor Society inductees, have joined the ranks of many who are trailblazers,” Pastor Gary L. Crum, Ellwood’s Chief Executive Officer said during the ceremony.

Bryant said the students, teachers and parents alike were excited for the opportunity to recognize the new society members.

“I think we were all excited,” Bryant said. “These students were not just chosen for their academic excellence, but their leadership and involvement with the community. A certain number of community service hours are required to join the National Honors Society and some of our new members had over 100 hours of community service.”

Now the school has a foundation that can be built upon for the next year as they plan service tasks to complete in the community.

“We have all of these juniors, which means we have next year’s officers,” Bryant said. “That helps a lot with upcoming events.”

As for the rest of the year, the newest National Honor Society members will be planning a project to complete by May, but haven’t decided what it will be on.

“We will know soon,” Bryant said. “We’re all excited.”