Rotary presents ten $2,000 scholarships to BHS graduates

On May 12 the Belleville Rotary Club held its 70th-annual Scholarship Program, awarding ten $2,000 scholarships to Belleville High graduates.
The club recognized five recipients of first-time scholarships and five recipients of second-year, renewal scholarships.
First year scholarship recipients are Lindsay Lore, Verniece Renee Lowe, Emily Mall, Haley Richardson and Hannah Smith. Renewal scholarships were awarded to Lauren Benedict, Kayla Hardy, Allison Juchartz, Deborah Lazarean, and Hannah Rodriguez.
After welcoming remarks and an overview of Rotary’s scope and purpose by Belleville Rotary Club President Jeremy Richardson, Rotarian Debra Juchartz discussed the history of the club scholarship program, outlined the proceedings of the evening, and offered greetings to the numerous local dignitaries in attendance.
Juchartz, the chair of the club Scholarship Committee, then introduced featured speaker Scott LaRiche, automotive dealer executive, recent past chairman of the North American International Auto Show, and Plymouth Rotarian.
LaRiche’s presentation, directed primarily at the student awardees, stressed the importance of “being proud” while “being humble” in the success of every individual. He pointed out that pride can be a driver of increased effort that causes a person to reach higher in whatever they do, while humility is the trait that fosters positive relationships with others that are essential to a happy and productive life.
The scholars were encouraged to strive to “be the kind of person you would like to meet.” After LaRiche’s talk, each of the scholarship recipients spoke briefly about their plans and hopes for the future.
Since inception, Belleville Rotary has awarded $450,000 to Belleville High School students as part of its scholarship program. This year, as in recent years, the primary funding source for the program has been the Charles B. Cozadd Rotary Foundation which assists the club in the funding or partial funding of many of its projects.