Talk of the Neighborhood highlights Central Texans’ achievements.

* Class Acts *

* Seventeen Tennyson Middle School band students earned chairs in the Texas Music Edu-cators Assocation Region 8 band competition in China Spring. Students winning seats were:

Courtney Groman, flute, third chair concert band; Gabriela Garcia, clarinet, first chair symphonic band; Cassia Landon, clarinet, second chair symphonic band; Abby Torpy, clarinet, fifth chair symphonic band; Ty Miller, clarinet, fifth chair concert band; Zazil Pacheco, alto saxophone, first chair symphonic band; Reed Cooper, alto saxophone, second chair symphonic band; Mark Watson, French horn, fifth chair symphonic band; Kristen Chapman, French horn, sixth chair symphonic band; Nathan Wells, trumpet, third chair symphonic band; Stefan White, trumpet, fifth chair symphonic band; Marcela Colmaneras, trumpet, sixth chair symphonic band; Brandon Jackson, trumpet, fourth chair concert band; Sarah Gilmore, trumpet, sixth chair concert band; Chrishard Buhl, trombone, seventh chair symphonic band; Tamir Fraga, trombone, fifth chair concert band; and Kurt Kranz, percussion, fourth chair concert band.

* Priscilla Ayala, a graduate of Waco High School, has been awarded a Tyree/Parajon Scholarship at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. The Tyree/Parajon Scholarship approximates one-half tuition and is based on academic achievement, leadership and merit.

* Applause *

* Chris King was recognized as the Citizen of the Month for November by the Cen-Tex African American Chamber of Commerce,

King, 38, is a native of Port Arthur and 1989 graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School. After moving to Waco in 2002, he joined Toliver Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and serves as a minister to the youth, leads a mime ministry and plays the drums.

He serves as committee chair for the chamber’s Business Wise Toastmaster group. His smoked turkey legs were the hit of the chamber’s Juneteenth celebration.

He and his wife, Reponsa Gail Aclese-King, have three children and one grandchild.

* Central Transportation Systems Inc. in Waco, an agent of United Van Lines, was honored by the worldwide household good transportation company for exceptional achievement.

Central Transportation received the President’s Club Award, $6 million level, which honors agents who have generated at least $1 million in sales for the United system during the past year.

* In the Military *

* Clay Boone Tynes, a 2007 graduate of Robinson High School, has completed his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. He was one of 58 honor graduates in a class of 627 trainees. He is currently stationed in Gulfport, Miss., where he is studying structural engineering.

Clay is the son of Tricia Tynes of Robinson and Mark Tynes of Hamilton.  He is the grandson of Laura Tynes of Waco and Trent Parkinson of Dallas.

* Pitching In *

* Keep Waco Beautiful recently received a $2,500 check from H-E-B as an Green Bag Grant winner on Texas Recycles Day.

After H-E-B introduced its reusable green bags last year, it decided to donate 5 cents of each bag sale to a grant to fund local recycling projects across Texas. The Waco grant money will go toward master composter training classes for teaching residents of the Greater Waco area about the practice of composting.

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