If there is one person who deserves to be the subject of jokes, puns and japes at Thursday night’s Pilot Club Roast, it is Paschal Ward.

However, if there is one person who can dish it out just as much as he can take it in, Ward is your man.

So, Thursday night should be great fun.

But more, Ward is a true gem in Decatur County.

Every year, he has a classroom full of students who are made to work hard, play hard, know their stuff and perform superbly, from the local football games to the national stage during one of the Thanksgiving Day parades. And year after year, those students are there because they want to be, not because they have to be.

For a quarter of a century, Ward has positively influenced the lives of more students on a one-on-one basis and had the most profound impact on them than any other educator in Decatur County.

And what’s even more amazing?

He is dearly loved.

He is loved by his students because of his easy-going nature and his good-hearted humor, which is even more the reason several of his former students return to participate in the Bainbridge Community Band.

Paschal Ward will be roasted Thursday, so count on a bunch of laughs.

But even more, Ward has made Decatur County the special place it is—one student at a time.