Lake Wylie Rotary gives $6K in scholarships

The Lake Wylie Rotary Club honored six Clover High School students during its Spirit of Service Scholarship Awards on May 5 with a total of $6,000 at Good Samaritan United Methodist Church.

Three finalists were chosen from the high school’s Interact Club and three finalists were chosen based on community service. All six, selected by a panel of club members, made presentations about their service. A team of Rotarian judges then selected the winners.

Emily George, who will enter Auburn University as a pre-med student, was awarded one of the top $2,000 scholarship awards. With more than 300 service hours, she raised more than $75,000 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital through the Moped to Memphis Womanless Beauty Pageant and Clover Auto Show.

The Community Spirit of Service runner-ups were Sean Elder and Arnd Prikker, each receiving $500 scholarships.

Bonnie Wyatt, who will attend Duke University Law School and plans to join the Peace Corps after graduation, was awarded the $2,000 scholarship for a Clover High School Interact Club member. Wyatt served as Interact Club president 2014-16. Accumulating more than 600 hours of community service, she volunteered at Clover Area Assistance Center, RideAbility and Sweet Repeat Thrift Store. She also participated in Special Olympics. She plans to join the Rotaract program at Anderson University.

The Clover High School Interact Club runner-ups were Donavon Frazier and Andrea Gendelman, each receiving $500 scholarships.

Rotary Club raised the scholarship money through events such as the annual Lake Wylie Poker Run, Lake Wylie Luau and other fundraisers throughout the year. The award honors students who exemplify the Rotary International Motto of “Service Above Self.”

Lake Wylie Rotary Club also presents its Unsung Hero of the Year Award to Monique Boekhout of Lake Wylie and founder of Kenya Orphanage Project.

A Belgium native with a business degree, she started her career with Caterpillar and grew into a position as the international liaison between U.S. and Belgium and the rest of Europe.

In 1987, Boekhout accepted a position at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., working for the International Finance Corp. She worked in the Africa Division, concentrating on feasibility studies of projects in then Zaire and Madagascar.

Once she and husband Bob relocated to Lake Wylie, she became equally active and involved in the local community, holding such positions as president of Lioness Club, opening and managing the Sweet Repeat Thrift Store, chairperson of United Way, volunteer and board member of Clover Area Assistance Center, secretary for Habitat for Humanity in Clover and board member of the Good Folks of York County. She also served on the River Hills Community Association homeowners board twice as director of maintenance and director of security.

For seven years, she was the editor of River Hills Community Church’s newsletter and started a communication committee. She was a member of the missions and finance committees. She chaired the local Crop Walk, and the Arts and Crafts Festival twice, as well as other fundraising events.

For her 50th birthday in 2002, she ran the Chicago Marathon, using the event to kickoff and raise money. She founded Kenya Orphanage Project to protect, nurture and educated children in Nairobi, Kenya.

She enjoys gardening, fishing, traveling and sports, especially running and tennis.

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Lake Wylie Rotary gives $6K in scholarships."