On Sunday, Feb. 6, the Lake Oconee Elks Lodge No. 2849 hosted its annual scholarship awards reception. It is during this special event that the Lake Oconee Lodge formally recognizes the winners of various scholarships and awards, which they present each year to local high school seniors from the Class of 2022.

The Lodge annually awards a total of six $1,000 Most Valuable Student (MVS) Scholarships to high school seniors from the local communities that they serve. In addition, it provides a $1,000 scholarship to the winner of the Chase Montgomery Memorial Scholarship, and also to the Lodge’s Student of the Year. Lastly, the Lodge this year presented a new $1,000 scholarship, The Jerry and June Smith Scholarship.

During the reception, the Lodge Scholarship Committee Chairman, Frank Rowan, provided an overview of the various Elk scholarships and awards being presented that day. The Lodge’s Esteemed Leading Knight, Mary Zachary, had the honor of presenting the scholarships and awards to each of the scholars. Zachary noted that, “This is a special day for our Lake Oconee Elks Lodge, as we have the opportunity to recognize a select group of local high school seniors that represent the best of our community.”

The guest speaker for the event was Robert Colie, president of the Georgia Elks Association and also a proud and longstanding member of the Lodge. He provided insights to the Elks scholars and their families on what the mission of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is. He highlighted specifically that the Fraternal Order was founded, “to promote and practice the four cardinal virtues of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity.” He then outlined examples of the various programs that the Elks sponsor at the national, state and most importantly, the local Lodge level in order to support the communities that they serve.

The winners of the six Elks Most Valuable Student (MVS) Scholarships include Ally Blythe, Gabrielle Gruszynski, Kurtis Tran and Kyle Beasley, who each attend Lake Oconee Academy. Ansley Shultz from Morgan County High School and Britton Reagin from John Hancock Academy were also winners of the MVS Scholarship.

Bhumi Sukha from Lake Oconee Academy is the winner of the Chase Montgomery Memorial Scholarship. The winner of the Student of the Year Scholarship is Idil Erturk, from Lake Oconee Academy. The winner of the first-ever Jerry and June Smith Scholarship is Katherine Darby from Lake Oconee Academy.

The Lodge received a record number of scholarship applications this past year and is already looking ahead to next year, when it can continue the tradition of recognizing the best and brightest local high school seniors.