SPANISH FORT — Strong commitments to service and leadership have placed three local students one step closer to fulfilling their personal and professional dreams.

Sara Elizabeth Deas of Spanish Fort High School, Aly Taylor Chisum of Bayside Academy and Megan Marie Rider of Daphne High School are each recipients of $1,000 college scholarships from the Daphne-Spanish Fort Kiwanis Club for 2011.

“These outstanding seniors were selected based on their academic excellence and exemplary leadership,” said Kiwanis member Carolyn Parham.

Deas, Chisum and Rider are all active members of their respective schools’ Key Clubs, which stress service, character building and leadership development. Kiwanis International assists the international student-led organization in achieving these goals.

Key Club was established to “develop competent, capable and caring leaders through the vehicle of service,” and Parham said Deas, Chisum and Rider embody these characteristics.

Key Club members are also asked to promote ideals within their communities such as valuing human and spiritual attributes above material possessions, encouraging the daily living of the Golden Rule and promoting not just the adoption but the application of more stringent standards in terms of scholarship, sportsmanship and social interaction.

More specifically, the group promotes “righteousness, justice, patriotism and goodwill” by helping develop — by example — a “more intelligent, aggressive and serviceable citizenship.”

Parham said the local Kiwanis chapter is able to fund these scholarships — along with an array of other educational causes each year — because of proceeds collected during the annual Taste of the Towns. The 2011 fundraiser is slated for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 5 at 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center. Nearly three dozen local restaurants have signed up to display their culinary craftiness during the event, and Parham said there will also be a silent auction and live music

“This is our major fundraiser each year, and it really is just a great opportunity for adults to have fun and support the young people of this community,” Parham said.