BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge State Fair Foundation highlighted 49 local high school students for their volunteer efforts in the community.

Sunday's ceremony kicked off on the fairground's main stage at 2 p.m. The recipients said they were honored to receive their awards.

"I felt very excited," Livonia High student Johnna Bazile said. "Being from a small town, a small parish, we don't get a lot of notice, so it made me feel very proud."

"I think that volunteer work is a great thing because you help satisfy the community you're serving and you also help yourself and feel proud of yourself. It's just a great thing to do," Episcopal High student Laci Summers said.

Each student received a certificate for $500.