One of the most important programs for the members of the Putnam Rotary Club is its scholarship program.
It’s a continuum running through generations. Scholarships named for passed Rotarians who contributed to the community are awarded to high school students who will pass that on to the community of tomorrow.
The Putnam Rotary Club turned 100 years old last year and the scholarship program has been a tie that binds.
Everything from endowments to good-natured fines to golf tournaments and much more through the years has built a scholarship program that this year awarded $30,000 to six local students heading to college.
Six scholarships were awarded for the 2023-2024 year. Amanda Kelly, president for that year, said: “The Putnam Rotary Club is proud to be able to offer these scholarships and provide support to students in our region. This past year we had a very impressive group of scholarship applicants.” She thanked the committee for its work and congratulated the students who received a scholarship.
Doug Porter, current Rotary president, said the awards ceremony Jan. 2 “was a great evening for both the scholarship recipients and the Rotary Club of Putnam.” Noting that scholarships are “a major focus” of the Rotary Club of Putnam, Porter thanked the Rotarians who worked so hard to raise money for the scholarships and congratulated “these outstanding students from northeastern Connecticut.”
Rachael Johnston, chair of the Scholarship Committee, said “We were, frankly, blown away” by the caliber of the scholarship applicants. They all excelled in sports, community service and “oh yes, throw in academics.”
The six winners included: John O’Brien Scholarship (presented by The Putnam Rotary Club Foundation president Joseph Adiletta) – Ava Hovestadt; A. Leon Archambault Scholarship (presented by Denise, Marc and Mary Archambault) — Talia Tremblay; Maurice Beaulac Scholarship (presented by Maureen Beaulac) – Lily Goyette; and three Raymond and Violet Brousseau Scholarships (all presented by Ronald P. Coderre) – Julia Coyle, Eric Levesque, and Peyton Bentley.
Hovestadt, a Woodstock Academy grad, is attending College of the Holy Cross and is majoring in economics and also getting a certificate in finance and banking.
Tremblay graduated from Woodstock Academy and is majoring in nursing at UConn. “I would not have been able to pursue this at my top school without this scholarship,” she said.
Coyle graduated from Woodstock Academy and is majoring in government and history at Connecticut College. She is also interested in international relations. She is taking part in cross country and track and said she has co-authored a chapter in a book about the Ukraine. “It’s been a great experience so far.”
Levesque, a co-president of the club’s Interact Club last year, is a double major in accounting and actuarial science. Because of the number of advanced courses he took at Tourtellotte, he has junior credit standing at UConn. He is working to recreate the Rotaract Club of Storrs which went extinct after COVID-19. It is being sponsored by the nearby Stafford Springs Rotary Club.
