By Suzy Wiesenhart
In May, the Riverview Woman’s Club was thrilled to gift four high school students, who will graduate from a public high school in 2014 and attend a two or four-year college or university in Florida, with a $1,000 scholarship each at its monthly luncheons. The club’s original goal was to give only one scholarship, but with its successful fundraisers, it was able to do more than was anticipated.
One fundraiser was A Night in Sicily, held at Summerfield Crossing Golf Club and the food was prepared by Chef Tony. It was a fun event with ambiance, good food, wine tasting, and fundraising events, like a wine pull, a re-stock the bar raffle and silent auction.
Another was The Country Shindig, held at the Winthrop Barn, where guests were encouraged to wear country attire. It featured a country dinner buffet with BBQ pork, grilled chicken, fixings, iced tea and lemonade catered by Hungry Harry’s BBQ. Music was provided by Music on the Move, a professional DJ service.
There was also a Zumbathon, which was organized by Daisy Vega and was a huge success.
Scholarship Chairwoman, Annabelle Lennard, said, “It was a difficult decision because there were so many worthy candidates.” The schools that were eligible in the Riverview area were Spoto, East Bay, Riverview and Lennard high schools. The committee members presented each recipient to the ladies at the luncheon, held at Summerfield Crossing Golf Club. Before the presentations, the ladies were serenaded by Jim Smeaton, who sang some Sinatra and Buble to set the mood.
Donna Fore presented Christopher Cioffi from Spoto, who will be attending USF College of Business with a goal towards marketing; Jennifer Hart presented Ariana Dasque from Riverview, who will be attending UCF with a goal towards a Masters in Physical Therapy; Michele Wirth presented Ashante’ Sanders from Riverview, who will be attending USF studying political science with a goal towards diplomacy; and Mimi Rose presented Tiffany Thompson from East Bay, who will attend FGC in Ft. Myers to study biology and then UF to study veterinarian medicine. All of these students are in the top of their classes, in the Honor Society, are athletic and/or have a passion for helping people.
Their schools, counselors, principals and families are so proud of these students, and the Riverview Woman’s Club is happy to be a part of their futures. For information about the club, visit www.riverviewwomansclub.com.
