As the school year comes to an end, teachers, students, and employees of Allen Community College begin to reflect on the school year.  While some look forward to the completion of the the 2017-2018 school year, others anxiously await the approaching ACE Awards. The 19th Annual ACE Awards, also known as the Allen County Excellence Awards, will take place May 4, 2018.

It all began back in 1999 when Tony Piazza was hired as the full-time theatre director for Allen Community College. He wanted to have an awards banquet to honor students in theatre and the fine arts. His wife, Terri Piazza, who teaches communications at Allen, also played a major role in starting the event.

The first ACE Awards were held at the China Palace, where the guest list grew to add music and art, and later the Journalism/Communications department. The ACE Awards eventually became known as the awards banquet for the fine arts at the school. As the department and participation grew, the division moved the awards ceremony to the music room, and this year it will be at the Dr. John Silas Bass Community Building , 505 N. Buckeye.

“It was just something to do. We needed something fun and exciting because there wasn’t even athletic awards (when it started),” Tony Piazza said.

The ceremony begins with a slideshow of pictures that were taken of students involved in arts activities over the year. It helps set the mood for a chance to reminisce. The ceremony is hosted by a master of ceremonies, who is a different faculty member each year.

The awards vary by program, but the basic design is a plaque presented to a student selected by their respective activity sponsor. Any student that has participated in that particular program — vocal and instrumental music, art, theatre or journalism — is eligible. One unique trophy is the Emerson Lynn Jr. Award for Excellence in Journalism , which is presented by the Iola Register to a stellar journalism student.

While there have been many comical moments in the past 19 years, according to the Piazzas, the hardest and saddest moment is when the department directors have to say goodbye to graduating sophomores and transferring freshman.