Hopatcong Women’s Club announces awards, scholarships

On April 9, the State Federation of Women's Clubs held an Achievement Day at Zeris’ Inn in Mountain Lakes. Co-president, Ellen Buongiorno spoke about all of the contributions and work the organization completed in the past year, and members of the club that submitted entries in creative arts won new awards: History Reporting (Linda Kolata), Computer Art (Cyndi Marinese), and Knitting (Monica Cavano).
Family Promise Volunteer Awards Dinner
At an awards dinner on April 12, members Karen Giordano and Kris Peterson were honored with the Volunteer Spirit Award for their tireless work with the State Project, Family Promise.
Scholarships Awarded
The Women's Club also awarded scholarships. Of 29 applications received for the Elam Lant Scholarship Awards, two Hopatcong High School students received the honors: Claudia Soavedra and Rebecca Weighall. These awards will be formally presented by our Education Committee Members on June 3. Additionally, the “Ruth Gates Career Development Award” (female Hopatcong resident, 25 years of age or older, who is planning to return to school) of $500 went to Margaret A. C. Kalinoski.
Claudia Soavedra is an outstanding student with a GPA of 3.9 and 21 in her Hopatcong High School class. She has demonstrated leadership qualities by starting a number of new clubs and instituted programs that will be part of Hopatcong High School for years to come and has been invited to numerous leadership conferences. Claudia was voted the top youth volunteer for Hopatcong. She has demonstrated fortitude in overcoming family difficulties and our scholarship should provide her with needed money to pursue a degree in Global Public Health at Pace University.
Rebecca Weighall was our Girls’ Career Institute representative last year at the Douglas College Career Institute. She too is an outstanding student with a GPA of 4.1 and is 16 in her class. She has been a volunteer at St Claire’s Hospital. Because of her father’s recent accident and the family’s reduced income, Rebecca has decided to go to SCCC for two years and then transfer to four year college. She will major in mathematics and someday hopes to get a PHD in Astrophysics.
Ruth Gates Scholarship Recipient Margaret A.C. Kalinoski came to the Women's Club through Project Self Sufficiency where she went to upgrade her computer skills and prepare for her return to work in the medical or pharmacy fields for which she previously trained. After high school she attended school for biology at Bloomsburg University and worked in the medical field for a number of years. She is divorced, has a 29 year old daughter, and has successful run a pet sitting business for ten years. Her goal now is to attend a three month course at MCVS to become a pharmacy technician and return to a long time interest.
The Hopatcong Woman’s Club meets on the third Wednesday of each month at the Hopatcong Senior Center on Lakeside Blvd. at 10:30am, followed by a casual luncheon. The next meeting, on May 21, is a special end-of-season luncheon meeting at Frank’s Pizza in Hopatcong. If interested in attending the May luncheon, please contact co-president Marlene Colabella at 973-398-5021. Follow us on FaceBook or check out our Club’s Web site www.HopatcongWC.webs.com
All local women looking to form new friendships and to find a special niche or pet project of interest to them are encouraged to contact Membership Chairperson Selma Reichert at 973-770-4989. To learn more about the NJSFWC (New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs), visit the Federation website at www.njsfwc.org and to learn more about the GFWC (General Federation of Women's Clubs), visit www.gfwc.org