WEEDSPORT #- As the class of 2007 prepares to move beyond the doors of Weedsport High School, it is also a time to look back and reflect.

To celebrate this spirit, the Weedsport Alumni Association annual banquet has been gathering alumni back for 84 years, to take the time to recognize the lives and achievements of all those that have passed through Weedsport schools.

The school has for a number of years recognized the accomplishments of those that have made achievements in the arts and in sports, but this year it was decided that it was time to pay homage to those that made an impact on their communities through their life achievements by bestowing the honor of Graduates on Distinction on to alumni for the first time.

The first to be honored with this new award was Dr. Paul D. Parkman, a graduate of the class of 1950.

From Weedsport Parkman went on to St. Lawrence and then to the New York College of Medicine before going on to serve in the military.

Through the 60s, Parkman worked on the development of testing for the rubella virus; by 1965 he had helped to develop a vaccine that would go on to eliminate the disease entirely.

Throughout his career Parkman authored more than 90 published papers and he went on to work at Walter Reed in Washington D.C. as well as the National Institute of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.

But even with such impressive accomplishments, Parkman never forgot his roots in Weedsport that built the foundation of his accomplishments.

“My roots are in Weedsport,” Parkman said. “It helped me to prepare. My parents believed in education. And when I left here I went out into the world with a sound education.”

Parkman was joined in this recognition by R. Daniel Soules, a member of the class of 1974.

Soules went on to graduate from CCC before going into the business world.

Over the past 30 years, Soules has been an entrepreneur, opening the New American Fitness Spa in Auburn, the first of its kind, as well as Taco Village, the first Mexican restaurant in the area.

Soules would go on to expand into Soules & Dunn Associates, focusing on real estate.

And Soules has opened numerous eating establishments throughout New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

But Soules has also been a generous supporter of his community, donation more than $2 million to various charities and nonprofit organizations over the past 30 years.

“This is such and honor,” Soules said. “This gives me the chance to represent my friends, my family, my community and my school and it is an honor that I will never take lightly.”

The example set by these graduates of Weedsport is one that many hope will set an example for the future.

“They represent something for all of our graduates to aim for,” O'Connor said. “They truly are graduates of distinction.”