Florida Tech Joins Rotary Club of Indialantic in 10 Scholarships for Brevard County High School Seniors

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology President Anthony J. Catanese, an active member of the Rotary Club of Indialantic, announced that Florida Tech matched dollar-for-dollar funds raised for scholarships at the club’s Ninth Annual Moon River Music & Magic. With the match, the event raised $46,000 toward scholarships for 10 Brevard County students to pursue higher education at Florida Tech.

“We are pleased to have been part of this successful event once again and are looking forward to welcoming these very bright young adults to campus this fall,” said Catanese.

The students are Brandon Baxter, Bayside High School, Palm Bay; Allison Downey, Satellite High School, Satellite Beach; Matthew Kemmerer, Bayside High School; Evelyn Maddox, Palm Bay High School; Ashley Philbeck, Palm Bay High School; Justin Ramsaran, home schooled, Palm Bay; Yael Rivera, Westshore High School, (lives in Malabar); Sarah Scharf, Satellite High School; Bella Schultz, Eau Gallie High School, Melbourne; and Dominique Wehner, Viera High School.

Since the mid-‘80s, the Rotary Club of Indialantic has provided college scholarships worth over $165,000 with $57,000 in Florida Tech matching funds to more than 59 South Brevard high school graduates. In addition, more than $155,000 in cash contributions have been made to local social and welfare organizations. Individual member donations and club-sponsored fundraisers have provided these funds since the club’s founding in 1958.

For the past nine years, Moon River Music & Magic has been the club’s annual fundraiser. This year, club members have decided to allocate all funds from this event exclusively to local scholarships.

With financial support from Florida Tech and assistance from its enrollment management and admission staff, Rotary Club efforts will aim exclusively at identifying and assisting college-bound seniors throughout Brevard who have applied for admission to Florida Tech.

Organizations and individuals are invited to make donations to help finance the scholarship program. These may be made to the Indialantic Rotary Foundation, a 501(c)(3) registered tax-exempt corporation. Donations can be mailed to: Rotary Club of Indialantic, P.O. Box 033134, Indialantic, Fla., 32903. For more information, call Sue Tyson-Parker at (321) 749-4684 or Stan Helm at (321) 795-7263. Club officers can also be contacted on the club’s web site at www.indialanticrotary.org.

CUTLINE: Scholarship winners from left: Allison Downey, Matthew Kemmerer, Ashley Philbeck, Evie Maddox, Justin Ramsaran, Brandon Baxter, Yael Rivera, Bella Schultz and Dominique Wehner. Not pictured: Sarah Scharf. Back row: Bruce Heeb and Jay Anderson of Rotary Club of Indialantic; Ken Stackpoole, Florida Tech senior vice president and chief development officer; and Sue Parker of Rotary Club of Indialantic.