Photo by  Aditi Sarkar

The Kiwanis Club of Deerfield Beach gave out 14 scholarships to local students on May 13th at the Historic Butler House. The amount totaled  $10,000.

Bob Fass, the President of the Kiwanis Club of Deerfield Beach, opened the ceremony with an invocation led by Kiwanian, Carina Baurley and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Past-President, Joe Santiago. Fass said a few encouraging words to the scholarship winners and then introduced the emcee, Past-President and current Lieutenant Governor Designate, Kerri Gordon who used a metaphor in her presentation, comparing the Covid Vaccine to the “Kiwanis Vaccine”, made of 1 part Kindness, 1 part Caring, 1 part Motivation, and 1 part Determination. Gordon is also the Scholarship Coordinator and has been the Kiwanis Advisor to the DBHS Key Club since 2014. The closing remarks were given by Tim Sullivan, who will become the club’s President on Oct 1st. The scholarship presenters were: Gordon Vatch, Janice Muenzenmaier, Carina Baurley, Dave Gravelle, Bob Parton, Irwin Rozen, Ed Dietrich, Deborah Eller, Darin Eller and his 4 children, Jesse, Jake, Nova and Evangeline Eller.

The recipients, their families, and a few special guests including District 1 Commissioner, Michael Hudak and Deerfield Beach High School Administrators, Miderland Delance and Gwen Smith were also treated to a delicious dinner during the awards presentation. 

Kiwanis is a group of volunteers dedicated to improving the lives of children, one community and one child at a time. If you have an upcoming graduate, be sure to have them be on the lookout for a scholarship application by February 2022. The best ways to be in the know are to either join Key Club in high school or have a parent join Kiwanis. 

For more information about the Kiwanis Club of Deerfield Beach please visit their website deerfieldbeachkiwanis.org.