The Rotary Club of Carmel has announced the inaugural recipients of the Portee Leadership Connection Scholarships. Recipients will be honored at a special luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club on June 2 at the Woodland Country Club in Carmel. The guest speaker will be Danny Portee.
Portee
The winners, their current high school, and their college destination and course of study are as follows:
- Jaquelin Escobedo, Christel House Watanabe Manual High School, plans to study nursing at IUPUI.
- Kiah Jackson, Carmel High School, plans to study epidemiology at Indiana University.
- Emma Metzger, Carmel High School, plans to study kinesiology at Purdue University.
- Maverick Surber, Christel House Watanabe Manual High School, plans to study American Sign Language at Bethel College.
- Florgisel Garcia, Providence Cristo Rey High School, plans to study Biochemistry, biology, or criminology at Saint Mary’s College.
In addition to a $1,000 monetary award, each winner will receive a new laptop computer. The scholarship money can be used for tuition at a college, university, community college, or trade school.
Selection of the five scholarship recipients was made by a review committee at Professional Management Enterprises, a nationally recognized staffing company based in Indianapolis and led by Portee. Scholarships are awarded with equal emphasis on merit and need.
Applicants were asked to show why they desire to continue their education, to state the school or trade school where they have been accepted, and to provide a brief description of what a $1,000 scholarship and laptop would mean to them.
Recipients are encouraged to bring guests – someone who has been inspirational in their life – such as a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, religious leader, or counselor.
Portee was instrumental in getting the funding in place for the scholarships. As the Owner and President of Professional Management Enterprises, he provides daily corporate leadership for his nationally recognized staffing company. He has an undergraduate degree in Human Resources and an MBA in Organizational Leadership. As an enlisted member in the Army from 1983 to 2003, he served in the capacity of Senior Telecommunications Manager, Recruiter, Sales Manager and Trainer during his 20 years of military service.
Dr. Rick Markoff, Immediate Past Chairman of Leadership Connection, gave special thanks to both Portee and Thaddeus Rex, Founder and CEO of iTeam, a local think tank, for making the Leadership Connection Scholarships possible.
“This program will play a major role in enhancing Leadership Connection by enabling business, community, and non-profit executives to have an impact on the next generation of leaders within our community and region,” Markoff said.”
Students attending Leadership Connection come from both Carmel and Indianapolis and are in their senior year. They represent Christel House Watanabe Manual High School, Pro/Act Indy, Elevate Indianapolis, Carmel High School, and the Carmel Mayor’s Student Advisory Council.