Last Thursday, the Westfield Lions Club held its annual Scholarship Awards Night at the Westfield Friends Church. Over 70 attendees, including Westfield High School (WHS) seniors, their families, and Westfield Lions, were part of this record-setting event. This year the Westfield Lions were able to award $14,500 in scholarships to nine WHS. seniors.
In the past, the Westfield Lions have awarded their Florence Benson Memorial Scholarship and Lester Tudor Memorial Scholarship to deserving seniors. With the tremendous success of the Club’s last two Texas Hold ‘em tournaments, the Lions decided to make significant increases in the amount of the Benson and Tudor scholarships and add several more scholarships to the program.
In addition to the Benson and Tudor scholarships, the Lions added two Service Over Self (SOS) Club scholarships, two Vocational & Trade School scholarships, the Don Russel Career Development scholarship, and scholarships for the WHS Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
The SOS scholarships were given to reward members of the SOS Club for their work in the community and their support at various Lions Club events. Hanna Dykema and Jennifer Castor-Espiritu received $2,000 and $1,500 scholarships, respectively. Two $2,000 Trade & Vocational School scholarships were awarded to Sam Foley and Grant Harlowe. Mike Clifford received the $2,000 Don Russel Career Development scholarship. The $2,000 Florence Benson Memorial scholarship went to Luci Bluto, and the $2,000 Lester Tudor Memorial scholarship was awarded to Terry Michael. The Male and Female Athletes of the Year, Ike O’Neill and Margaret Roh, each received a $500 scholarship.
The Westfield Lions Club places a major emphasis on supporting Westfield Washington Schools and its students each year. The Club makes significant donations to the Westfield Education Foundation, the WHS Culinary Arts program, and the Hoosier Girls State Leadership Conference (pays for two WHS students to attend). They also provide free dictionaries to all the school system’s third graders, conduct vision screening events for the school nurses, as well as numerous other projects and service work.
The Westfield Lions Club, established in 1930, is looking for men and women interested in serving in the community. Go to WestfieldLions.org to find out more about the Club and how to become a member.