The O'Neal School inducted new members of the Junior Beta Society Friday, Dec. 5.

The new members are: Bennett Holland, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Holland Jr., of Southern Pines; Maxwell Winter, son of Dr. and Mrs. James Winter, of Southern Pines; Mimi Ke, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Yan Ke, of Southern Pines; Aleksandra Majka, daughter of Anna Balinska-Majka and Alan Majka, of Southern Pines; Mulloy Manning, daughter of Alison S. Manning, of Southern Pines and Edward N. Manning Jr., of Pinehurst; Kathleen Mills, daughter of Stuart Mills and Helen Probst-Mills, of Pinehurst; John Roger Moore, son of Dr. and Mrs. John R. Moore IV, of Pinehurst; Tatum Riley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James L. Riley, of Southern Pines; Aubrey Thompson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Thompson, of Pinehurst; Alessandra Tozzi, daughter of Drs. Joseph and Kim Tozzi, of Sanford; Anne Walker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Walker, of Sanford; Freddie Woronoff, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Woronoff, of Pinehurst; and Eugene Zhang, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leon Zhang, of Southern Pines.

Frank Quis, former mayor of Southern Pines, was the guest speaker. He talked of the similarities of working with those in government and working with fellow classmates. He stressed that it was important to learn how to listen to others before making decisions in order to be the most effective. He encouraged becoming involved in the activities and opportunities offered to them.

During the ceremony, candles were lit representing the four virtues of the Junior Beta Club which are: Service, Leadership, Scholarship and Honor. Current members then "tapped" the inductees, whereby all of the members then recited the Junior Beta Pledge, led by middle school director, Rich Tompkins.

To be eligible for membership, a student must have an average academic grade of A- with no grade below B+ for English, math, science, history and foreign language and receive an approving vote of 75 percent of faculty members who consider themselves qualified to vote. This vote will be based on the student's worthy character, credible achievement, and commendable attitude.