Gainesville Theater Alliance students Haden Rider and Carly Berg recently took 28 area theater students ages 8 to 18 to Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta.

The group’s production of "Honk Jr." garnered trophies for Excellence in Acting, Outstanding Performance and Excellence in Female Acting for the role of "Ugly" by Taylor Priday.

This was the group’s first time going to this festival. Additionally, two of the students were named to the All-Stars, Heidi Rider and Riley Smith. Approximately 82 groups representing 23 states and more than 3,500 children and adults attended the festival during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

Cadet Sergeant Prince James Story, a Riverside Military Academy freshman, was selected to attend the "Preventative Care: Healthcare for the Future" session of the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C.

He was nominated by his honors English teacher, David Bailey. General Colin Powell was the keynote speaker for the conference. Story was present for the swearing in of President Barack Obama at the Presidential Inauguration ceremony on the National Mall Jan. 21.