Two-part event recognizes 2025 CHS Awards as well as presents 56 college scholarships
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – Chester High School hosted its 2025 Honors Night event Wednesday night May 7th at Colbert Memorial Gymnasium on Rocky Bridges Court. This year’s event encompassed so many recognitions and awards that Casey Hawkins, CHS School Counselor, decided to host Honors Night in two separate segments.
The first segment recognized primarily Chester High School students that were being honored for “school-specific” achievements. These areas of honors included National Honor Society, Illinois State Scholars, the Southern Illinois Society for High School Achievement (SISHSA) recognitions, the 2025 Illinois Principal’s Award (IPA), the Terri Bryant Youth Advisory Council, the 2025 Southwestern Illinois Top-20 Scholarship recipients (SWIC Top-20), and the 2025 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) recipient.
At the completion of the first segment of honors and recognitions, there was a short break at which time parents and students who were not involved with scholarship presentations could enjoy light refreshments and leave if they so desired.
Approximately 15-minutes later, the second segment of the 2025 CHS Honors Night program began. This segment included the college scholarship portion of the evening and involved primarily CHS Class of 2025 senior graduate candidates. Most, but not all, of these 56 scholarships were presented either by or on behalf of local organizations.
Representatives from these local organizations had the opportunity to present the scholarships in person, otherwise they were presented by CHS administrators or personnel. This year there were a total of 56 monetary scholarships awarded by 35 different organizations.
SEGMENT 1
Senior members of the CHS Summit Chapter of the National Honor Society
Brayden Absher, Max Blechle, Cayden Brunkhorst, Peyton Cole. Rylie Conley, Beatriz “Nico” De Guzman, Evan Dunning, Giana Eggemeyer, John “Jack” Heffernan, Mirra Krieg, McKenna LaChance, Elaina Lutman, Katherine Pierce, Allyna “Ary” Shipley, Whitney Sulser, Summer Valleroy, William “Will” Welge, and Alex Williamson.
Illinois State Scholars
Rylie Conley, Beatriz “Nico” DeGuzman, John “Jack Heffernan, Whitney Sulser, and Will Welge.
Southern Illinois Society for High School Achievement (SISHSA)
All SISHSA winners were seniors including Rylie Conley, Mirra Krieg, Elaina Lutman, Whitney Sulser, Will Welge, and Alex Williamson.
Principal’s Award (Illinois Principal’s Association): Kolton Jany
Illinois State Senator Terri Bryant’s Advisory Council members
CHS Seniors including Rylie Conley, John “Jack” Heffernan, and Whitney Sulser.
Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) Top-20 Scholarships
CHS seniors who earned a SWIC Top-20th Percentile Scholarship included Rylie Conley, Eli Stout, and Alex Williamson.
2025 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen Award: Whitney Sulser.
SEGMENT 2
The second segment of Honors Night 2025 featured seniors who earned local monetary scholarships. In all, there were 56 scholarships presented that included 35 different presenting entities or organizations.
Those are listed below.
Chester Education Association Scholarships
Rylie Conley
Kolton Jany
Rebecca Young Memorial Scholarship
Peyton Cole
Chester Eagles Scholarships
Rylie Conley
John “Jack” Heffernan
Gary Schwent Memorial Scholarship
Evan Dunning
Caroline Schwent Scholarship
Brenden Malley
Chester American Legion Post 487 Scholarships
Brayden Absher
Alex Maes
Nate Maes
Brenden Malley
Chester Chamber of Commerce Scholarship
John “Jack” Heffernan
Chester First United Methodist Men Scholarships
Jaden Lopez
Will Welge
Chester High School Alumni Foundation Scholarships
Evan Dunning
Nate Maes
Chester Women’s Club Scholarships
Beatrice “Nico” DeGuzman
Whitney Sulser
Chester Rotary Club Scholarship
Brayden Absher
Leah Search Memorial Scholarship
Nick Coffey
Buena Vista National Bank of Chester Scholarship
John “Jack” Heffernan
Chester Masonic Lodge #72 Scholarships
Kolton Jany
Nate Maes
Brenden Malley
Jake Sharp Scholarship
Alex Maes
Roseanna Sharp-Myers Scholarship
Elaina Lutman
Edna Sharp Scholarship
Mirra Krieg
Dr. Milton Zemlyn Memorial Scholarship
Rylie Conley
1st Lt. Bruce R. Welge Memorial Scholarship
Jaden Lopez
Alice and Elmer Eggemeyer Memorial Scholarship
Brayden Absher
Chester Knights of Columbus 3790 Scholarships
John “Jack” Heffernan
Kolton Jany
Kaskaskia Lodge #86 Schaffner Masonic Scholarship Foundation Scholarships
Brayden Absher
Rylie Conley
Kolton Jany
McKenna LaChance
Brenden Malley
Katherine Pierce
Sadessa Sellers
Mary Katherine Mueller Scholarship
Katherine Pierce
Randolph County Democrats Scholarship
Alex Williamson
Thomas and Pauline G. Evans Scholarship
John “Jack” Heffernan
Chappius Camille Fieschi Memorial Scholarships
Beatrice DeGuzman
Jaden Lopez
Will Welge
Koeneman Family Scholarship
Whitney Sulser
Manor at Craig Farm Scholarship
Jaden Lopez
Chester Lions Club
Kolton Jany
Brenden Malley
Chester VFW 3553 Scholarships
Brayden Absher
Rylie Conley
Golden Apple Teaching Scholarship
Mirra Krieg
Diane Gonzalez Memorial Scholarship
Peyton Cole
Ronald Reagan Memorial Scholarships
John “Jack” Heffernan
Kolton Jany
Pat Mullholland Memorial Scholarship
Gianna Eggemeyer
Red Cross Scholarship
Rylie Conley
CONCLUSION
Jeremy Blechle, CHS Principal, closed the evening with several comments after which there was a “Photo Opportunity” and a period of refreshments and socialization. The second half of the evening took approximately 90-minutes for a total event time of 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Paul Stallman from the CHS Class of 1944 presents college scholarships to Chester High School seniors Evan Dunning (left) and Nate Maes (right) at the 2025 CHS Honors Night. Through generous donations from the class members and other the annual CHS ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIPS since 1989. This year marked the 35th scholarships to be awarded to Chester High School seniors. Dunning and Maes each received scholarships for $2,500 each. Jim Beers Photo.
Dr. Jim Beers, Methodist Men President and Scholarship Committee Chairman for the Men’s Group at First United Methodist Church in Chester, presents college scholarships in the amount of $1000.00 each to Chester High School seniors Jaden Lopez (left) and Will Welge (right) at the 2025 CHS Honors Night. Lopez will attend Murray State University to major in Cyber Security and Welge will attend the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois to study in the Music Field to become a Music Producer and/ or Sound Engineer. Dwight Lochhead Photo
The family of Dr. James F. Sharp and Roseanna Sharp-Myers made available three college scholarships in 2025 to CHS seniors. Pictured are (left to right) Alex Maes, recipient of the 2025 Jake Sharp Scholarship; Elaina Lutman, recipient of the 2025 Roseanna Sharp-Myers Scholarship; and Mirra Krieg, recipient of the 2025 Edna Sharp Scholarship. Jim Beers Photo
Chester’s Peyton Cole, a Chester High School graduating senior, was the recipient of the 2025 Rebecca Young Memorial Scholarship. Jim Beers Photo
Kyle Koeneman presents to 2025 Koeneman Family Scholarship to CHS senior, Whitney Sulser, at the 2025 Chester High School Honors Night. Jim Beers Photo
CHS senior Brayden Absher was the recipient of five college scholarships at the 2025 CHS Honors Night including the American Legion Scholarship; the Rotary Scholarship; the Alice and Elmer Eggemeyer Scholarship; the Schaffner Masonic Scholarship; and the Chester VFW Scholarship. Jim Beers Photo