CCSD Student Named Top JROTC Cadet in World!

A Cherokee County School District student has been named the top U.S. Air Force Junior ROTC cadet in the world!

Congratulations to Etowah High School junior Kane M. Barnard, who has been honored as the 2025–26 AFJROTC Cadet of the Year: the best of the 100,000 students who participate in U.S. Air Force JROTC programs in the nation and internationally!  Kane is a three-year member and serves as Corps Commander of the Etowah HS AFJROTC program led by Lt. Col. (Ret.) Stephen Bergey and Technical Sgt. (Ret.) Ciarra Malto.  Our School Board is laser focused on ensuring our students are learning more, growing more, and achieving more in our classrooms than they could anywhere else!

Kane also recently was selected as one of only 94 students nationwide to receive an AFJROTC Flight Academy scholarship to earn a private pilot’s license and college credits this summer.  He is a three-year competitor in the JROTC Raider program and has twice been named a national champion in the multi-event military style athletic competition.  He is a two-year competitor in the JROTC Orienteering program and has been named a national champion in the competition that tests cadets’ navigation, stamina, and map-reading skills.  

A three-year member of the JROTC color guard and the school’s track team, Kane is president-elect of its chapter of HOSA Future Health Professionals and a member of National Honor Society.  Kane has served 224 hours of community service so far during his high school career. 

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