Shante Moore returned to Junction City 25 years after his high school graduation.

The U.S. State Department diplomat graduated from Junction City High School in 1992, and Monday evening served as the keynote speaker for the Celebration of Teaching banquet at the Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center.

Moore told an audience of USD 475 educators that teaching is the most honorable profession there is today. “The influence of teachers have in shaping our minds, dreams, aspirations and behavior of young people is profound and important.”

Moore credited his teachers for their efforts including the importance of grammar and writing, which is a skill he uses extensively with his job in the State Department. “And that’s been important because what I do in the State Department is we write and we write a lot. That’s part of my job. I go out, I meet with other people in other countries and I am supposed to report back to Washington about my conversations on what’s going on in the country.”

Moore remembered his days growing up in Junction City and his first paying job working at Alco where he worked from 1990 to 1996. ” If you ever had to pick up peat moss or lava rock or just remember a guy working in the garden center that was probably me.”

This was the 13th annual Celebration of Teaching Banquet hosted by the Geary Community Schools Foundation. A number of scholarships were presented to educators. They included:

–The Devin Family Memorial Teacher Scholarship to Erin Lopez

–Ron Shandy Memorial Teacher Scholarship to Tiffany Rene’ Stephens

–Geary Community Schools Foundation Teacher / Para Educator Scholarships to Sara Devine, Jennifer Farr, Erica Howard, Roseanne Mizell, Shanae Porter, Ruth Stephenson, Courtney Youngers, Kaci Wells, Emily Warren, and Heather Boland.