Bush to twister-devastated town: Celebrate your triumph

GREENSBURG, Kansas (CNN) -- President Bush addressed a high school graduation Sunday in Greensburg, Kansas, a year after a tornado took 11 lives and destroyed 90 percent of the small Midwestern town.

"It's fitting that we hold commencement on this day -- it marks the day of a tornado that forever changed your lives," Bush told the 18 graduating seniors in his first high school commencement speech.

"We celebrate your yearlong journey from tragedy to triumph," he said in the ceremony at Greensburg High School's temporary gymnasium.

Bush applauded the group for juggling schoolwork and sports while helping their community bounce back. The students, who once attended class at a red-brick school, spent the last year learning in mobile classrooms supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Their families still live in trailers.

The May 4, 2007, tornado touched down more than 75 times, leaving hundreds of residents of southwestern Kansas without their homes and businesses. It blew winds up to 205 mph, reducing brick-and-mortar buildings to piles of rubble. It smashed cars and semi trucks, and rendered Greensburg virtually unrecognizable.

Still, most Greensburg residents chose to stay and rebuild their community, Bush pointed out.

"Often in life, you're dealt a hand that you did not expect," he said. "The test of a community and test of an individual is how you play the hand." Watch Bush talk to the seniors »

Shortly after the disaster, Greensburg's mayor, a representative from the governor's office and a nonprofit expert from a nearby town proposed reconstructing the town using only environmentally efficient principles. The project, known as Greensburg GreenTown, which includes a new wind turbine designed to generate 5 kilowatts of electricity, is under way. Watch how the town is being rebuilt in a 'green' way »

Bush, who stayed for the entire graduation ceremony, applauded local officials for their green approach.

"This community is dedicated to putting the 'green' in Greensburg," he said. "As you work to achieve this vision, the federal government will honor its commitment and stand by you."

The commencement was originally scheduled for next weekend, but was pushed up a week so it wouldn't conflict with the May 10 wedding of the president's daughter, Jenna.

"Thank you for scheduling this ceremony so I could make it," Bush said. "I could suggest changing the date of the wedding instead, but I think we all know how that would've turned out." E-mail to a friend