Before the

announcement, Hinkle and Gordon were introduced along with the STAR students

and teachers from Newnan High School, East Coweta High School and the

Heritage School. Lamar Wright, the Chairman of the Chamber's Education

Committee, hosted Tuesday's STAR student breakfast, which was held at

the Central Educational Center conference center in Newnan.

Tuesday's annual

STAR breakfast was introduced by Chamber Board Chairman Sam Jones and

the STAR students and teachers, and also thanked the assembled business

leaders for their support of education in Coweta County. Students, teachers

and the school system are successful because of "business partnerships

and supporters of education like you. And a quality education is the key

to our quality of life in Coweta County."

In addition

to Miss Hinkle, this year's STAR students for Coweta were:

East Coweta

High School: Elizabeth Brass. Her STAR teacher was Frances Bilon. Brass

is the daughter of Robert and Linda Brass.

The Heritage

School: Michael Humphrey. His STAR teacher was Glenda Davis. Humphrey

is the son of Craig and Kathy Humphrey.

Newnan High

School: Jane Skinner. Her STAR teacher was Vivian Dunn. Skinner is the

daughter of Winston and Lynn Skinner.

The STAR (Student-Teacher

Achievement Recognition) program is sponsored primarily by the PAGE Foundation

Inc., which is part of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators,

and is co-sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education and the Georgia

Chamber of Commerce. Locally, the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce sponsors

the event.

A top academic

senior is chosen for each High School in Georgia as that school's STAR

student. STAR students must have the highest score in one sitting on the

SAT taken through the Nov. test date of their senior year, and be in the

top 10 percent or top 10 students in their class.

STAR students

select their STAR teachers, meant to be the teacher who has had the greatest.

Elizabeth Brass said she thought seriously as she chose her teacher, asking

herself what constitutes greatness. Brass said she ruled out wealth or

even leadership.

"Service

- that's greatness," said Brass. Great teachers are motivated not

she said. To be a great teacher "you have to truly have a servant's

heart." Though she has had many excellent teachers, Bilon, above

all, "made me feel special," and so she chose her as her STAR

teacher.

The students

not only praised their teachers, but teachers, in turn, praised the outstanding

students.

Vivian Dunn

praised Jane Skinner to chamber members as a "talented, artistic

and intelligent" student, someone who "lives her beliefs,"

is valedictorian of this year's NHS graduating class, and is a student

who had recently completed, in only two months, a college-level course

in Discrete Math.

Glenda Davis

said that she knew Michael Humphrey, the son of teachers, was a special

student when he skipped lunch one day to carry on a scholarly argument

with her over Dante's Inferno. Elizabeth Brass - also her graduating class'

Valedictorian - plans to study medicine, is captain of her soccer team

and, as a student, is "competitive, witty, determined... she will

be something as an adult," said Frances Bilon.

Hinkle is a

student for whom Gordon has been called on to write many, many letters

of recommendation, because she is such an active student, he said. A member

of the marching band, yearbook staff, Beta Club and Future Business Leaders

of America, Hinkle would like to attend Columbia University or perhaps

Mercer University, because of the strong liberal arts core curriculum

at both schools.

Hinkle credited

not only Gordon, but also her mother, Laura Hinkle, with her success.

In particular, she thanked her mother for inculcating her with an early

love of reading. Mrs. Hinkle, like the other parents at Tuesday's STAR

breakfast, was very happy to see her child honored.

"I'm very

proud of Lauren," said Mrs. Hinkle. She agreed with her daughter,

that "it has been a lifelong love of books and reading that has helped

Lauren excel at everything she does." Mrs. Hinkle read to her daughter

"even before she knew what a book was," she said.

The Newnan-Coweta

Chamber of Commerce's breakfast meeting was the first of the organization's

monthly membership breakfast to be held at CEC, which will become the

regular venue for the monthly breakfasts.

Tuesday's breakfast

honoring STAR students and teachers was sponsored by 12 local banks, including

Bank of America, Bank of Coweta, The Bank of Georgia, BB&T, Farmers

and Merchants Community Bank, FLAG Bank, 1st Community Bank, Newnan Coweta

Bank, Regions Bank, SouthTrust Bank, Wachovia Bank, N.A., Washington Mutual

Bank.