BY CLIFF SMELLEY
The Kiwanis Club of Starke presented this year’s recipients of the club’s Steve Denmark Memorial Scholarships at its May 14 meeting at The Downtown Grill.
Recent Bradford High School graduates Kinley Burkhalter, Hagen Kadlec and Taylor Wilkinson were selected from nine applicants. Each received $500, with funds coming from the club and Kitten Denmark, the wife of the late Steve Denmark.
Each recipient was given the chance to thank the club and share their future plans.
Burkhalter, who dual enrolled at Santa Fe College while in high school, plans to continue attending Santa Fe to earn her AA degree. Then, she wants to transfer to the University of Florida and major in Speech Pathology.
Kadlec plans to attend the University of North Carolina, majoring in Communications and participating in ROTC so he can be commissioned as an officer in the Army.
Wilkinson, who dual enrolled at Santa Fe while at BHS, wants to major in Business Administration and start her own business.
Scholarship namesake Steve Denmark passed away at the age of 71 on April 28, 2019. The lifelong resident of Starke and Kingsley Lake graduated from BHS and received a business degree from the University of Georgia. After college, he returned to Starke and took over the family business — Denmark Furniture.
Denmark was a charter member and past president of the Kiwanis Club of Starke and had a great love for the community, giving of himself through service and donations to support many organizations, businesses and schools.
“Steve was a great member,” said Kiwanis member Cheryl Canova, who served on the Steve Denmark Memorial Scholarship committee. “If you didn’t know him, he did a lot for us and this community. We were very blessed to have had him.”
