Dave Thomas founded the Wendy’s hamburger chain in Columbus in 1969 and it quickly grew into one of the top in the nation.

Thomas was a high school drop out and was concerned that his story might set a bad example and wanted to emphasize the importance of staying in school and exceling in academics and extracurricular activities.

In 1993, he started the Wendy’s High School Heisman program, an award which goes to students who need maintain a 3.0 GPA, participate in athletics and demonstrate proven leadership in their community.

Local Schmidt Restaurant Group head Justin Schmidt has organized an annual event and, this year, 154 students from 96 Tri-State school districts received the honor.

From Lawrence County, the award went to Jordan Storms, Joel Lambiotte, Mattie Malone, Nate Harmon, Jordyn Koerpner, John Higgins, Helen Aguilera, Gavin Meadows, Grace Simpson, Brycen McCann, Alexandra Holtzapfel, Isaac Whaley, Chad Morris and Kara Saunders.

We congratulate our local winners, many of whom we already know and have covered for their achievements in multiple areas, and thank Wendy’s and Schmidt for giving them this honor.