Area high school students make prom promise

Students at Christiansburg High pledge to remain drug and alchohol free during prom festivities this spring. Photo by Travis Williams | The Burgs.

Groups of students at all four Montgomery County high schools Tuesday pledged to remain drug- and alcohol- free at their respective prom festivities this spring.

Students signed banners and made pledges as a part of the Bonnie Kitts Commitment in honor of the late Bonnie Kitts, a former MCPS teacher who was killed in a car accident by a drunken driver in 1995.

The pledge is the brainchild of Bonnie Kitts’ son, Brian Kitts.

Now an assistant principal at Eastern Montgomery High School, Kitts was once Christiansburg High School’s golf coach. It was in 2001 when his golf team began the Bonnie Kitts Memorial Scholarship Fund when they gave him $500.

For the past 10 years, the Bonnie Kitts Memorial Golf Tournament has been held at Meadows Golf and Country Club to benefit Christiansburg High School.

Now, Kitts wants to extend scholarship and educational opportunities to all MCPS high schools.

The new initiative donated $20,000 to MCPS to help develop “County Character” programs.

County Character programs are designed to help fund winning choices and character education in MCPS schools, according to Kitts.
Out of the $20,000, $10,000 will be used for 10 scholarships over the next 10 years. These 10 scholarships will be given specifically to golfers at CHS through an application process. To be considered, the golfer must commit to being drug- and alcohol-free and demonstrate great character and service.

Additionally, MCPS will award four scholarships worth $1,000 to one student at each of the four Montgomery County high schools. Students are only eligible for the scholarship if they pledge to remain drug- and alcohol-free and stay until the end of their school’s after-prom celebration.

MCPS will present the students with their scholarships at a board meeting in May, according to Kitts.

Funds for future scholarships and the after-prom celebrations will be raised through a new golf tournament called the Bonnie Kitts Commitment Memorial Golf Event.

The event will include the golf tournament as well as a silent and live auction.

MCPS is partnering with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, the Bonnie Kitts Memorial Scholarship Fund, Virginia Tech Athletic Department, Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Clubs of Montgomery County.

The silent and live auctions cost $25 per ticket and will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. at Custom Catering in Blacksburg on June 19. The golf tournament will be held at Meadows Golf and Swim Club in Christiansburg on June 20 and will cost $200 per team.

Kitts believes programs that support character education help make students better citizens and the community a better place to live.

“It’s an opportunity to encourage high school kids to make good choices and to continue making those same choices as an adult,” Kitts said. “This is what it’s all about. It’s about making our community better for everybody.”

For more information about Bonnie Kitts Commitment and the County Character Event, call Brian Kitts at 239-7845.

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