The Ephraim Men’s Club has announced this year’s 16 Gibraltar graduates who will receive a total of $30,000 in tech school and college scholarships. Men’s Club President Dick Volkmann says it’s an all-time record for the club and for the students in the community. These scholarships were made possible by a combination of challenge grants and an extremely successful pancake breakfast last August. Also more money was contributed at their annual meeting and on into the fall. This year’s college scholarships were awarded to Brady Ash, Izabella Bunda, Kimberly Church, Connor Duffy, Benjamin Fitzgerald, Solomon Lindberg, Aubrey Peot, Kayla Scharrig, Nina Sitte, Nadeen Wassel, Jack Weitman, and Erin Young. And then this year’s tech school scholarships go to Ava Becker, Dominic Krauel, Jenna Riley, and Lia Smith. Over the past 50 years the Ephraim Men’s Club has raised roughly $270,000 for scholarships, with the proceeds traditionally coming from ticket sales and contributions from businesses, Ephraim residents, and Men’s Club members. Over the past 4 years, the number of scholarship recipients grew from 8 to 9, to 11, and now to 16. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a halt to this summer’s pancake breakfast, with this being the club’s first ever cancellation in a half-century. Pancake Breakfast Chairman Jim Reeve of Ephraim says, “Next summer we hope to be back in business with a bigger and better breakfast.”
