26 Scholarships awarded at Porter County Community Foundation Annual Banquet

On May 9th, 2019, twenty-six high school seniors received a scholarship at the Porter County Community Foundation’s Annual Scholarship Banquet.

Since 1998, the Foundation has presented 382 scholarships to students from all over Porter County.

Lilly Endowment Community Scholars Vanessa Cardona (left) and Emma Johnson (right).

Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships were awarded this year to Aidan Aubuchon of Portage High School, Emma Johnson of Indiana Connections Academy and Vanessa Cardona of Valparaiso High School. This scholarship pays full tuition and fees to any college or university in the state of Indiana, as well as $900 each year for books. Since inception, the Foundation has awarded 85 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships, totaling over $4 million. These scholarships are the result of a statewide initiative by Lilly Endowment Inc. to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana and support Indiana’s community foundations in their mission to enhance quality of life.

The Porter County Community Foundation awarded $4,000 scholarships to Jenna Dawson of Michigan City High School, Ashley Sutton of Indiana Academy and Sarah Smith of Chesterton High School.

Porter County is fortunate to have businesses and individuals who value the importance of education. Thanks to the generosity of NIPSCO, the Plesac Family Scholarship Fund, the Larry and Jerilyn Klemz Scholarship Fund, the Largura Family Scholarship Fund and the Tom and Alice Roberts Scholarship Fund, a $1,000 scholarship was awarded to Allison Hano of Hebron High School, Emily Zoll of Boone Grove High School, Jillian Burton of Washington Township High School, Haley Ruiz of Wheeler High School, Alannah Hodges of Morgan Township High School, Kaitlyn Steele of Valparaiso High School, Molly Slatcoff of Chesterton High School, Sanja Kirova of Portage High School and Grayce Beach of Kouts High School.

Each year, the Porter County Community Foundation awards $1,000 scholarships to students who attend the Porter County Career and Technical Center. The recipients for this year are Lauren Drang, Thomas “Jay” Edwards, Roury Farnum, Haley Jackson, Alicia Kleckner, Cameron Tharp, Lauren Yates and Abbigail Stram.

Three special scholarships were created as a legacy for the person or family whose name they carry and will last into perpetuity. The Harlan A. Siegesmund Liberty Township Alumni Scholarship was awarded to Ethan Snowdin of Chesterton High School.  This scholarship was established by the Liberty Township High School Class of 1958 to honor their long-time principal Mr. Siegesmund. The Tom and Georgia Bricker Scholarship was awarded to Holly Kuebler of Kouts High School. This scholarship was created by Georgia, a school teacher, to honor her late husband Tom. Lastly, the Shawn Moyer Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Olivia Konchar of Kouts High School. Shawn Moyer was a 1999 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar who passed away during his sophomore year at Taylor University. Lilly Endowment and the Foundation endowed the remaining balance of Shawn’s scholarship to create this award for graduates of Kouts High School.

Porter County Community Foundation Scholar Sarah Smith.

Community Scholars Haley Ruiz (left), Alannah Hodges (Center), and Jillian Burton (right).

Porter County Career and Technical Center Scholars (left to right) Abbigail Stram, Haley Jackson, Lauren Yates, Thomas “Jay” Edwards, Alicia Kleckner, Roury Farnum, and Lauren Drang.

Harlan A. Siegesmund Liberty Township Alumni Scholar Ethan Snowdin.

Tom & Georgia Bricker Scholar Holly Kuebler.

Shawn Moyer Memorial Scholar Olivia Konchar.

Foundation Awards 2018 Scholarships

As one chapter comes to a close, a new one is just beginning for the 27 talented high school seniors recognized at the Porter County Community Foundation’s Annual Scholarship Banquet. Since 1998, the Foundation has presented 356 scholarships to Porter County students.

The 2018 recipients are:

The Porter County Community Foundation has awarded 82 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships to Porter County students since 1998. This scholarship pays full tuition and fees to any college or university in the state of Indiana and $900 each year for books. The 2018 recipients of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships are: (left to right) Alaynah Chatman (Portage High School), Robert Walker (Washington Township High School), and Abigail Koster (Chesterton High School).

Porter County is fortunate to have businesses and individuals who value the importance of education. Thanks to the generosity of NIPSCO, the Plesac Family Scholarship Fund, the Larry and Jerilyn Klemz Scholarship Fund, the Largura Family Scholarship Fund and the Tom and Alice Roberts Scholarship Fund, a $1,000 scholarship was awarded to each of the following recipients: (left to right) Jayson Heinold (Kouts High School), Austyn Pryatel (Morgan Township High School), Natalie Dowdy (Andrean High School), Sam Klumpe (Valparaiso High School), Emily Horsley (LaCrosse High School), and Mickayla Edmaiston (Portage High School). Not pictured: Kayla Rivera (Wheeler High School) and Thomas Gotsch (Marquette High School).

The Chesterton High School Class of 1958 established the Harlan A. Siegsmund Liberty Township Alumni Scholarship in honor of their longtime principal. The scholarship is awarded to a graduate of Chesterton High School with a preference given to residents of Liberty Township. This year’s recipient is Rigoberto Alvarez, Jr. (Chesterton High School) pictured here with Ed Seykowski, a member of the class, who was instrumental in creating this scholarship.

Each year, the Porter County Community Foundation provides $4,000 scholarships to Porter County students. The 2018 recipients are: (left to right) Madison Nondorf (Valparaiso High School) and Lexi Sroka (Hebron High School). Not pictured: Alex Reed (Boone Grove High School).

The Foundation and the Porter County Career and Technical Education Center have worked together since 2008 to award scholarships to their students. The recipients for 2018 are: (left to right) Joshua Chew, Cailee Hodges, Jacob Wells, Cameron Chapman and Abigail Vargas, with Jon Groth (Director of the Porter County Career and Technical Education Center). Not Pictured: Bridget McGrath and Tyler Smolar.

Georgia Bricker, whose husband, Tom, passed away in 2006, established a scholarship in memory of him. This year’s recipient is Kelsey Fleming (Washington Township High School).

Shawn Moyer was a 1999 recipient of the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship. During his sophomore year at Taylor University, Shawn lost his battle with cancer. The remaining balance of his scholarship was endowed to create this award for Kouts High School graduates. This year’s recipient, Hannah Maier (Kouts High School), is pictured here with Nick and Bev Moyer, Shawn’s parents.

Porter County Community Foundation Hosts Annual Meeting and Celebration of Achievement

On Wednesday evening, the Porter County Community Foundation hosted its Annual Meeting and Celebration of Achievement at the Porter County Expo Center with over 175 guests in attendance. This event is a special way to celebrate and thank the individuals, community partners, and nonprofits who work so hard each and every day to better our community.

In 2016, the Foundation awarded over $2.1 million in grants and scholarships supporting the great work being done by nonprofit agencies and to help kids continue their education. “We are fortunate to live in Porter County – a community that is committed to organizations and the causes they care about at the deepest level possible. The nonprofits here work tirelessly to help make our community a better place,” said Bill Higbie, President and CEO of the Porter County Community Foundation. “We are honored to get to work with these organizations in various areas – whether it be starting an endowment fund that will benefit the organization well into the future, or by providing meeting space at the Center for Community Philanthropy.”

The remarkable work of nonprofit organizations and individuals was recognized at the Annual Meeting on May 31st, with the 2017 Celebration of Achievement awards. The awards were presented to the following recipients: Dorota Janik, Executive Director at Reins of Life, for Outstanding Nonprofit Staff Member; the Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County for Outstanding Nonprofit Agency; Portage Township Live Entertainment Association for Outstanding Nonprofit Agency; Margaret Williford, Shirley Heinze Land Trust, for Outstanding Volunteer; and Timothy Rice, Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County, for Outstanding Volunteer.

Each winner receives an engraved award recognizing their accomplishment as well as a $1,000 contribution to the organization’s endowment fund with the Foundation, or in the case of individual winners, to an organization’s endowment fund of their choice in their name. 

In addition to the Outstanding Achievement Awards, the Foundation recognized its newest Echo Society members – those who make an endowed lifetime gift or leave assets to the Foundation through a beneficiary designation, a will, or an estate plan – and announced a new program called Promise Porter County.

The new Promise Porter County program makes educational savings a reality by helping families start a CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings account through their school, seeding the account with an initial investment from a local sponsor, and engaging the community to match deposits that the students, families, and champions all contribute to the account. “Promise Porter County is an example of what happens when people care about their community and are willing to commit their energy and resources to making things better,” said Higbie. “It’s not just about setting up an account to save for college; it’s about changing the mindset of families and equipping them with a potentially different vision of themselves.” Promise Porter County will launch this fall at the first grade level in all seven Porter County school corporations.

 “At the Porter County Community Foundation, we gather generosity, grow it through investment, and give it away, all for the good of our community,” said Higbie. “Great things happen when people come together, and together we can commit to honor Porter County’s legacy of generosity in a powerful way.”

Porter County Community Foundation Awards 27 Scholarships at Annual Banquet

As one chapter comes to a close, a new one is just beginning for the 27 talented high school seniors recognized at the Porter County Community Foundation’s Annual Scholarship Banquet. Since 1998, the Foundation has presented 332 scholarships to Porter County students.

Three Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships were awarded this year to Robert Kreloff of Valparaiso High School, Elizabeth Palmer of Kouts High School and Sam Soucie of Washington Township High School. This scholarship pays full tuition and fees to any college or university in the state of Indiana, as well as $900 each year for books. In total, the Foundation has awarded 79 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships since inception, totaling over $4 million. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships are the result of a statewide initiative by Lilly Endowment Inc. to help raise the level of educational attainment in Indiana, support Indiana’s community foundations in their mission to enhance quality of life, and encourage and support the efforts of current and past Lilly Endowment Community scholars to engage with each other and with Indiana business, governmental, educational, nonprofit and civic leaders to improve the quality of life in Indiana generally and in local communities throughout the state.    

The Porter County Community Foundation awarded Keiggan Lange of Boone Grove High School, Sonny Hammonds of Chesterton High School, and Jordan Powell of Andrean High School, each a $4,000 scholarship.

NIPSCO partnered with the Foundation to provide $1,000 scholarships to Emily Lazarek of Marquette Catholic High School, Kadie Spoor of Wheeler High School, Nicole Pomeroy of Michigan City High School, Marybeth Scheibel of Valparaiso High School, Anastasia Miller of Chesterton High School, Andrew Briggs of Hebron High School, Sofia Serrano of Portage High School, Samantha Haywood of Portage High School and Caitlin Clute of Morgan Township High School.

Each year, the Porter County Community Foundation awards $1,000 scholarships to students who attend the Porter County Career and Technical Center. The recipients for this year are Emmalee Deardurff, Alexis Farnum, Brieana Kraus, Amber Rardin, Alexus Reyes, Kyle Stowers, Abigail Street, Jordyn Windsor and Kyle Wolfe.

Three special scholarships were created as a legacy for the person or family whose name they carry and will last into perpetuity. The Harlan A. Siegesmund Liberty Township Alumni Scholarship was awarded to Lindsey Burgess of Chesterton High School.  This scholarship was established by the Liberty Township High School Class of 1958 to honor their long-time principal Mr. Siegesmund. The Tom and Georgia Bricker Scholarship was awarded to Abigail Street of Valparaiso High School. This scholarship was created by Georgia, a school teacher, to honor her late husband Tom. Lastly, the Shawn Moyer Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Kyla Roney of Kouts High School. Shawn Moyer was a 1999 Lilly Endowment Community Scholar who passed away during his sophomore year at Taylor University. Lilly Endowment and the Foundation endowed the remaining balance of Shawn’s scholarship to create this award for graduates of Kouts High School.