Five Keene-area residents were among the six Southwestern Adventist University alumni honored April 12 at the annual Alumni Banquet at the Committee of 100 Cafeteria that kicked off homecoming weekend.
 Keene Adventist Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Joshua Samaniego (class of 1997), was recognized as Alumnus of the Year, Michelle Long, ‘87, was named Alumna of the Year, and Joan Ortner, ‘62, and Martin Read, ‘62 were named Alumni Volunteers of the Year.
Former KAES sixth-grade teacher Betty Trevino, ‘62, and Marti Connell Schneider, ‘62, were inducted  into the Alumni Hall of Fame, along with Marvin Ponder, ‘62, and Hubert Watkins, ‘52.
Long, who lives in Cleburne, works for Mission Hospice, and has a son at Chisholm Trail Academy.
Ortner has long been a resident of Keene, a local business owner, and a volunteer with the Johnson County chapter of the American Red Cross since 2000. Her daughter, Lisa Ortner, was the recipient of the Alumna of the Year in 2011.
Read, son of local artist Sleepy Read, is an artist and entertainer in his own right. After 20 years living and working on the East Coast, he is currently the lay pastor of the Joshua Adventist Church and is active in the local community.
Trevino has devoted her life to education, teaching for 13 years at Keene Adventist Elementary School and serving as a member of governing bodies such as the Texas Board of Education and the Southwestern Union Curriculum.
Schneider has devoted her life to church ministry, serving with her husband in various Adventist conferences around the United States and establishing numerous programs designed to inspire and motivate others in ministry.