The Governor and First Lady of Kansas honored 17 youngsters as the top readers in the state. One of them was from Troy, Kansas.

The winners of the “Read Kansas Read” summer reading program, and their families, joined Governor Sam Brownback and First Lady Mary Brownback for a lunch reception at the governor’s mansion on Saturday.

Troy, Kansas 7th grader Faith Kitzman joined 16 other winners for the reception at Cedar Cres.

The statewide summer reading program is a collaborative effort by the Governor’s Office, Kansas Book Festival, Kansas State Library and the Kansas State Department of Education to challenge Kansas children to read while they are not in school. Students across Kansas spent the summer recording the time they spent reading on their reading logs, and top readers were chosen from each age group in the seven library regions.

The Read Kansas Read top readers for Grades 1-12 are:
Slade Cauley, Great Bend
Vasumathi Raghavan, Manhattan
Megan Roy, Palco
Courtney M. Elbert, Americus
Jessica Van Orden, Americus
Chiara Crisanti, Delia
Faith Kitzman, Troy
Kimberly Lister, Lyndon
Josiah “Draven” Sayre, Atwood
Janaeha Dinkel, Sharon Springs
Gracie Poirier, Derby
Lauren Regier, Newton
Shea DeBoard, Goddard
Brooklyn Monk, Neodesha
Alyssa Allison, Elsmore
Jordan Thompson, Elsmore
Jayson Resendiz, Garden City

“These students put in a lot of time reading over the summer, and I am proud of their achievements,” Governor Brownback said. “Read Kansas Read is a great
program that encourages students of all ages to read even when classes are not in session, and I’d like to thank all of the parents, teachers, and librarians
who encouraged their students to participate.”

First Lady Mary Brownback and State Librarian Jo Budler joined Governor Brownback for the celebration. The First Lady presented representatives from
Clearwater Public Library with the $500 Kansas Book Festival grant. The Clearwater Public Library was selected from the dozens of libraries that participated
in the Read Kansas Read program.

“I am pleased to congratulate Clearwater Public Library on receiving this year’s Kansas Book Festival library grant,” said the First Lady. “Library
participation is critical to the success of our state’s reading initiatives, and I would like to thank them for their support.”