Southwest FL – The May luncheon highlighted the presentation of Sarasota Military Officers Scholarship Fund $2,000 scholarships to ten very impressive and deserving graduating seniors from Sarasota area high schools highlighted the Military Officers Association of Sarasota (MOAS) May luncheon. The recipients were Gabrielle Barroso & Kersten Damosh (SMA), Jillian Bland & Nehemiah Pride (Sarasota HS), Katie Cole (Riverview HS), Olivia Liang & Matthew Twargoski (Cardinal Mooney HS), McKensie Murray (Booker HS), and Marissa Brotz & Kayla Shelly (Pine View School).
The scholarship committee of MOAS received 26 applications for the ten $2,000 Scholarships. Each application included a 300-word essay, letters of reference, honors and work/volunteer descriptions, college acceptance letters and school transcripts. Reviewing and grading the applications is a huge and time consuming job. Claire Power, Chairman of the Scholarship Committee thanked her members for their commitment; Mary Gordon, Mike Staley, Kay Tracy, Jean Southworth and Len Friedlander.
The MOAS Veteran’s Scholarship Program awards were made to the Veterans Programs at the State College of Florida Foundation ($2,000); Manatee Technical College – East ($1,000); and Manatee College – West ($1,000).
After helping to present the awards together with RADM Brian McCarthy, MOAS President, and Claire Power, MOAS Scholarship Committee Chairperson, Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight addressed the students and the membership.
Sheriff Knight spoke of his respect for the nation’s veterans and for the work that organizations like MOAS do for the community. He recounted his father’s World War II service in the Pacific as a B-29 tail gunner. It was only after his father’s passing did he discover, from an uncle, that his father had been shot down three times; once being rescued by a submarine after three days in a raft.
Sheriff Knight, addressing the scholarship recipients, spoke of life lessons and the values of humility and integrity. Mentioning the reduction in Sarasota County’s crime, he gave full credit to the hardworking staff and patrol officers in the Sheriff’s department, and stressed the importance of having and maintaining one’s integrity; if lost, it is almost never regained. As a final note, Sheriff Knight spoke of leadership by example and being a role model for others to emulate. Sheriff Tom Knight is the 10th Sheriff of Sarasota County, serving since January 6, 2009.
MOAS is the Sarasota Chapter of Military Officers Association of America. MOAA is the nation’s largest and most influential association of military officers with 370,000 members. It is an independent, nonprofit, politically nonpartisan organization. For more information visit, www.sarasotamoaa.com Are you a former military officer? Please come and join us at our monthly luncheon.
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