RockTenn was recognized Tuesday for their recent gift of $25,000 to the Demopolis City School Foundation and city school system.

The foundation held its annual Donor Appreciate Celebration on Tuesday evening in downtown Demopolis. 2012 marked the celebration’s 17th year.

“This donation is going to go to maximize our students potential,” Superintendent Al Griffin said. “

The money will support, among other things, the system’s dual enrollment program.

Dual enrollment grants students the opportunity to take college courses in high school and receive college credit.

“Education in local communities is the lifeblood of our community,” Chuck Smith said. “The money we give is like a benefit to our employees because it will go to help the community and their children.”

As a result of dual enrollment opportunities, Smith said there have been some students who have graduated and been able to start their first year of college as sitting sophomores.

Smith said dual enrollment provides students a chance for better opportunities as they go further in their education.

“RockTenn sends a positive message to the community,” John Northcutt, president of the school foundation said.

The Higher Education Center, where many of the classes are offered, is owned by the City of Demopolis, and represents an educational consortium between the city and the University of West Alabama, the University of Alabama, Auburn University, and Alabama Southern Community College.

In addition to dual enrollment, the gift from RockTenn will go to assist the school system with various other needs that occur throughout the year.

“Our relationship with the school foundation and the school system is a partnership,” Smith said.

Other donors recognized at the event were at the partner, patron, and executive levels.

The list of partners, who contributed $500 or more, included the following: BankTrust, J.D. and Amanda Barnes, Doug and Jan Brooker, Woody and Joy Collins, William and Judilyn Horton, Marengo Insurance Agency, Frank and Lucette Osborne, Prystup Packaging Products, J.F. and Mary Rutledge, Walmart Foundation, and The York Children’s Foundation and Kirk Funeral Home.

The list of patrons, who contributed $1,000 or more, included the following: CEMEX Southeast LLC, Jackson-Newell Foundation, Carolyn S. McCormick, Bill and Catherine Meador, Claud and Cindy Neilson, Louise Webb Reynolds, Robertson Banking Company, Rotary Club of Demopolis, Gwyndolyn C. Turner, and Dan and Vickie Wilson.

The list of executives, who contributed $5,000 or more, included the following: Foster Farms, Georgia-Pacific Corp., Parr’s, Inc., RockTenn Company, and The John C. Webb, III and Marie Suttle Webb Foundation.