Topeka ? An aide to U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts has been named Kansan of the Year by a group that celebrates the state’s heritage.

Harold Stones, of Topeka, will be honored Jan. 27 in Topeka at the annual banquet of the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas. The group picks both a Kansan of the Year, honoring a native of the state, and a Distinguished Kansan of the Year, which can honor someone born elsewhere.

Stones has been director of special projects for Roberts since 1997. He serves primarily as the Kansas Republican’s liaison to military bases, local governments, chambers of commerce, economic development groups and private companies.

Stones also is a former CEO for the Kansas Bankers Association.

Roberts himself was Distinguished Kansan in 1999.