Rotary holds annual Teacher and Scholarship Recognition Banquet

Scholarship recipients with Dr. Ken Oertiling, SCPPS Superintendent and Rotarian, and Carrie Thomas, Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish President. Recipients not pictured include Roha Abbas, Tracy Hardy and Michael Vial.

Educators, sponsors and scholarship recipients were all honored recently when the Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish held its 2020-2021 Teacher and Scholarship Recognition Banquet.

Each year the club awards six academic scholarships worth $5,000 over four years. Additionally, four one-year $1,000 vocational scholarships are awarded. The scholarships are usually funded by money raised at the club’s annual Alligator Festival, but that was derailed this past year due to the pandemic.

“We are filled with joy and pride that we were able to still award our full amount of scholarships despite the cancellation of last year’s festival,” Kelsey Pollock, public relations chair for the Rotary Club of St. Charles Parish, said. “Over the past year, the volunteers of our club have worked hard to host alternative fundraising events to make up for the funds our festival would have raised. We are committed to supporting the higher education of our local youth and sincerely thank those in our community who continuously support our fundraising efforts.”

Academic scholarship recipients from Destrehan High School’s 2021 graduating class are Roha Abbas, Eric Jones and Michelle Smith. Brennan Revader and Benjamin Spears are the vocational scholarship winners.

Hahnville High School class of 2021 academic scholarship recipients are Taylor Champagne, Tracy Chen and Elizabeth Hardy. Vocational award winners are Gage Fleming and Michael Vial.

Pollock said all scholarship recipients have achieved higher than a 3.0 GPA and must have a strong grounding in serving the community.

“The selection committee factors in financial need, dedication to the community and strength of essay and interview in its deliberations,” Pollock said. “Students apply through the school system using the St. Charles Community Scholarship Application.”

All recipients must exemplify the idea of “Service above Self”, Pollock said, adding that to ensure transparency no recipient can be a child or grandchild of an active Rotarian.

“During the banquet we also recognized our Interact Club sponsors – Hope Barnhill at Hahnville High School and Rosella Cambre at Destrehan High School – as well as the three SCPPS Teacher of the Year recipients,” Pollock said.

Teacher of the Year recipients include Amber Minchew – Elementary School Teacher of the Year, Jennifer Green – Middle School Teacher of the Year and Brittany Bonnaffons – High School Teacher of the Year.

 

About Monique Roth 919 Articles
Roth has both her undergraduate and graduate degree in journalism, which she has utilized in the past as an instructor at Southeastern Louisiana University and a reporter at various newspapers and online publications. She grew up in LaPlace, where she currently resides with her husband and three daughters.

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