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Craig Kiwanis Club honors beloved member while awarding $23,000 in scholarships

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Andy Bockelman
  

Moffat County students display the multiple checks handed out by Craig Kiwanis Club to current and former Bulldogs on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at Loudy-Simpson Park. Kiwanis distributed more than $23,000 in college scholarship funds this year.
Andy Bockelman/Craig Press

The memory of a longstanding member of a local service club lived on in a whole new way this year, as his former colleagues recently handed out a significant amount of student funding.

Leading up to the Moffat County High School Class of 2024 graduation, the Craig Kiwanis Club doled out $23,000 in scholarships to current and former graduates during a ceremonial barbecue May 15 at Loudy-Simpson Park.

With 16 total awards, the Kiwanians handed out $1,000 checks to current college students Haley Boatman, Kadin Hume, Alexis Jones, Ellina Jones, Aftyn Kawcak, Alexander Nichols, Pepper Rhyne and Sadie Smilanich.

While most MCHS alumni had received the scholarship last year and reapplied, this was the first time for Boatman, who initially attended Colorado Northwestern Community College after graduating in 2023 before transferring to Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs.

“I kind of wanted to go somewhere that’s a little bigger but still stay close to home,” she said. “My sister had to do some spy work to get it to me in Glenwood, and then I had to get it back to her, but we got it done.”

Boatman plans to earn a degree in business administration, a career path that took some consideration.

“I didn’t know what I wanted to do that first semester, so it’s really nice to be able to get that now, because there’s no way I could have afforded it without this,” she said.

The Kiwanis Club of Craig also handed out $1,500 apiece to Joslyn Bacon, Valerie Teeter and Caroline Schenck. For Schenck, it’s one of several scholarships she has received.

“So far, I’ve gotten four, but it’s really early and I’m still waiting to hear back on some,” she said.

Schenck will study business at the University of Northern Colorado, starting as a junior thanks to getting her associate’s degree already from CNCC.

“It has saved me so much money and so much preparation,” she said. “I just finished my last English class ever, and I’m so glad to be done.”

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Funds earmarked for MCHS Key Club members included $2,000 each for Megan Neton, Kenleigh Pubanz and Ruby Short.

The Sarah Fleming Memorial Scholarship went to Katie Jo Knez, who received a check for $500 from Kiwanis and $1,500 from Yampa Valley Bank in honor of the namesake MCHS alum and rodeo star.

As a rodeo athlete planning to compete for Texas’s South Plains College, Knez said receiving the honor was especially significant knowing Fleming’s reputation.

“It’s a really good feeling,” Knez said. “I’ve heard many good stories about her, and it sounds like we’re a lot alike, so it’s really exciting to be awarded this.”

The ceremony included a new one-time award as a way to honor one of Kiwanis Club’s most beloved members, the late Pete Pleasant, who passed at the age of 84 last summer. Pleasant spent decades with the Kiwanis Club, according to members Kirk McKey and Mike Anson.

“Anybody he saw who needed help, Pete was there, giving and giving and giving,” McKey said. “We gave this to somebody we knew Pete would be super proud of what they’re doing with their life.”

Anson noted that an anonymous donor added to the pot of scholarship money.

“He wanted to do something for a scholarship but didn’t go through the hassle of doing it himself. He liked the way we did things,” Anson said.

The $2,500 award went to Pubanz, who was surprised by the second check. Not only was she familiar with Pleasant, she interacted with him frequently, waiting on him at JW Snack’s for several years.

“When he passed, it was hard on me,” Pubanz said. “He was a giant pain in my butt, but he was so funny and made my day every Friday when he would come in with all the Kiwanis guys. It’s very special to me to be able to use this to move my legacy forward.”

Pubanz will attend Fort Lewis College this fall, studying psychology and education with plans to become a school counselor.

“I’m a little devastated, honestly, a little nervous,” she said. “I’m so thankful to be in a community that’s so generous like this.”

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