Rotary Club Awards Scholarships to Four High School Grads

The Rotary Club of Lemont-Homer Glen awarded $4,000 in scholarships to local high school seniors Tuesday afternoon during the group's weekly luncheon.

Four students were honored during the meeting, which was held at , 1 Pete Dye Drive. Winners of the "Top Service Awards" were Danny Banas, Anne Forzley and Abigail Korte, along with Mother McAuley's Katherine Maslar.

Each student received a $1,000 scholarship to be used toward continuing their education. Awards were presented on the basis of the service the student has provided to the local community.

"It's a great privilege and honor to hand out these awards," said Art Lorenz, president of the Lemont-Homer Glen Rotary Club. "These students were chosen because of the nature of their service to the community. We can't instill enough the importance of people helping other people—service above self."

Banas, who will be attending the University of Illinois this fall, was active in Lemont High School's Mission Possible service group, which will turn into Rotary Club's youth organization, Interact.

He also participated in the National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America, and was responsible for earlier this year.

Banas thanked the Rotary Club for the scholarship and for sponsoring his trip to a leadership conference last fall—an experience he called "one of greatest" he's ever had.

"The Rotary Club helped me build relationships and friendships that I never would have had, so thank you," he said.

Local business owner Sam Forzley accepted a check on behalf of his daughter, Anne, who was at the University of Illinois taking a chemistry exam.

Talking about his daughter, he referenced the Rotary Club's 4-Way Test. (Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?)

"I look at the 4-Way Test and it really goes to the heart of who Annie is," he said. "She's always rooting for the underdog and loves serving her community."

Korte, who will attend Saint Louis University, has been an active member of the Lemont Juniorettes, an extension of the Lemont Junior Woman's Club that engages young women in service projects for the community.

Earlier this year, she was named the village's .

"The motto of Saint Louis University is 'men and women for others,'" Korte said. "That's really a great fit for me, because I think community service will always be important to me."

Maslar, who served with Korte on the Lemont Juniorettes, will also be attending Saint Louis University this fall. Her community service included weekly visits to Franciscan Village, where she exercised and socialized with senior residents.

"I'm really appreciative of the scholarship," Maslar said.

Also during the meeting, Lorenz announced the winner of an iPad 2, which was raffled off to raise money for the scholarship fund. The lucky winner was Rotarian Christine Hogan.

For more on the Rotary Club of Lemont-Homer Glen, check out the group's website at www.lemonthomerglenrotary.org