Orange Coast District Scholarship Chairman Harvey Boelts (standing) directs the District Elks scholarship judging which took place at the Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge.
Mission Viejo / Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge No. 2444 (“Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge”) announces that six scholarship candidates sponsored by its Lodge are advancing from the district to the state competition. This year the Elks National Foundation will be awarding scholarships totaling $2.3 million to all selected candidates at the district, state and national levels.
In advance of the application process, the Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge made presentations to fifteen (15) Saddleback Valley High schools requesting that students apply for the Elks scholarships. Thirty five (35) student applications were received by December 1, 2010. Each application was then evaluated by the Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge Scholarship Committee. Scoring was based on a student’s scholarship, ACT/SAT scores, leadership and financial need.
Frank Kirchhoff, Lodge Scholarship Chairman said, “I had the privilege of scoring all the applicants. The Scholarship section of all thirty-five (35) youth applications were consistently high, but most impressive was the leadership and community service of some of the students. One student started his own charity, “SHINE”, which stands for Spreading Hope to Needy Environments. Since recent school budget cuts eliminated tutoring, another student started his own tutoring group. A very creative student started “Dream Catchers”, which grants dying wishes to people in hospice care. While reading some of the student’s essays and accomplishments, I got tears in my eyes. Our Saddleback Valley communities are producing some outstanding youth.”
The Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge submitted six (6) applicants to the Orange Coast District competition. All six (6) were judged as qualified to proceed to the state level judging in Fresno, February 4-6, 2011. The Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, Newport Harbor, Orange and Santa Ana Elks Lodges each have one candidate that is advancing to the state competition. The three male and three female candidates sponsored by the Saddleback Valley Elks Lodge respectively were: Clyde Taber, Larson Ishii, Ahdiv H. Nathan, Sarah Maissy, Holly Nagasugi and Caitlin Crommett. These students represent the Saddleback Valley communities of Dove Canyon, Foothill Ranch, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and Trabuco Canyon.
Elks Lodge Exalted Ruler Pat Martino said, “Congratulations to all student scholar applicants, their parents, their teachers and others that have inspired them to excel academically and as contributors to their respective communities.”
The Mission Viejo / Saddleback Elks Lodge No. 2444, celebrating forty-one (41) years of service to the Saddleback Valley communities, is one of ten lodges in the Orange Coast District of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) whose headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois. The BPOE is a charitable organization with a 143 year history of giving, “Elks Care, Elks Share.”
