NAPLES YACHT CLUB AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS TO COLLIER COUNTY STUDENTS

NAPLES YACHT CLUB CHAPTER OF INTERNATIONAL ORDER OF THE BLUE GAVEL AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS TO COLLIER COUNTY STUDENTS

Dozens of students from schools across Collier County were awarded college scholarships recently by the Naples Yacht Club Chapter of the International Order of the Blue Gavel enabling them to proceed to college and further their education.

A total of $93,692 in scholarships were presented this year to local high school seniors and members of Naples Yacht Club staff. This includes $5,000 to each of the nine public high schools in Collier County, plus $38,692 for Naples Yacht Club staff and/or children.

The total amount also includes a Florida state matched scholarship grant of $10,000 that is awarded annually to First Generation Matching Grant Program students at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in Fort Myers. Since 1998, more than 500 local students have been awarded approximately $1.5 million in scholarships through this organization.

“Thanks to the generosity of our members, we are able to assist deserving high school students and Club employees and family members in their goal of achieving a college or other higher education degree,” said Past Commodore James R. Lozelle, Chair of the Blue Gavel Scholarship Fund Committee. “The Blue Gavel Scholarship Fund is unique to Naples Yacht Club and just part of what we do to support our community year-round.”

The scholarship fund was established in 1997 as an organization of Past Commodores to help employees of the Naples Yacht Club and their families. Two years later, the fund changed its name in 1999 to the Naples Yacht Club Blue Gavel Scholarship Fund, Inc. and is now classified as a tax-exempt organization under the Internal Revenue Service.

Today, the Blue Gavel Scholarship Fund concentrates on educational programs and specifically the awarding of scholarships not only employees of the Naples Yacht Club and their children but also high school seniors in Collier County and students at FGCU.