When three Effingham County students received a letter from the Savannah Elks Lodge, they knew they were receiving an award.

However, they didn’t know they would take the highest honors of the night.

Effingham County High School seniors Hannah Boyd and Raoul Rego and South Effingham High School senior Jared Curtis attended an awards banquet at the Savannah Elks Lodge on Feb. 12. The banquet honored six students from the greater Savannah area — three girls and three boys — whose academic achievement, coupled with their school and community services, earned them spots in the Elks’ Most Valuable Student contest at the local level.

Curtis took second place in the boys’ division, while Rego and Boyd both placed first. They advanced to district level where Rego and Boyd won second place. They will now attend a second banquet to receive scholarship funds and a plaque.