The Berry/Kauffold Scholarship 2024
The Berry/Kauffold Scholarship is designed to help students further their music education. The purpose of our scholarship is to provide monetary incentives to musically talented high school students. The money can be used to purchase/lease new or upgraded instrument(s) or to offset expenses for band camp or for private instrumental instruction from a qualified teacher or program.
The award of scholarship support is based upon completion of the application and the recommendation forms and a two-to-five minute video/audio file.
Through this program, we will be awarding $2000 to deserving high school students in Michigan.
Our goal is to encourage long-term involvement in music performance and to make students aware of the opportunity to continue performance with a community music experience and to pursuing music education after high school.
In order to apply, Scholarship applicants must :
- Attend High School in the state of Michigan
or
be sponsored by a current Michigan District Optimist Club - Be in the ninth (9th) through eleventh (11th) grade
- Current members of their high school instrumental or orchestral music program.
Application and Reference Forms
are due by April 15, 2024
All applicants with complete applications will be on the status of his/her scholarship application process.
SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTATION OF AWARDS*
- Scholarships will be awarded during the Michigan District Optimists Third Quarter Conference in May.
Time and date TBD. - Should this award presentation be postponed or cancelled due to Covid 19, the award announcements will be made via USPS mail.
- Scholarship Awards will be made at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee and must be used by September 15, 2024. The decisions of the Scholarship Committee and Judges are final.
*If the Scholarship will be used for Private Lessons a Verification Log is required
The Private Lesson Verification Log is to be sent to the address listed below no later than October 1, 2024.
The award will be known to the recipient within thirty (30) days after the log has been received.
Payment will be made directly to the student thirty (30) days after the log has been received and verified .
Send Verification Log to:
Michelle Kauffold
8898 Longview Drive
Stanwood, MI 49346
If you have any questions, please contact the
Scholarship Committee Michigan District Optimist/Optimist International
Debra Berry
(ph)248/467-0592
(email) deb@debinparis.com
or
Michelle Kauffold
(ph) 313-510-6300
(email) newmichelle@att.net
OptiViews 2025-26 Q1 is Available
Thank you for entrusting to me the Governorship of the Michigan District for 2025-2026. It is an honor to be the Governor of the largest district in Optimist International and to serve all of you wonderful Optimists.
As we enter the 1st Q of the new Optimist Year, I have one question to ask you –Are you ready to “Bee the Difference”? This is our theme for the Michigan District for the year 2025-2026. These three simple words define how we as members of Optimist International view and interpret the world around us. As Optimists, we must take it upon ourselves to provide solutions to problems that challenge our kids, our communities and ourselves. I firmly believe that all of us can “Bee the Difference” in the upcoming year.
Growing our clubs is certainly one of the biggest challenges we will continue to face in the upcoming year. To encourage and reward club growth the district will provide a $50 rebate to the club for every new member they recruit this coming year. I intend to have our Lieutenant and Assistant Governors work closely with our Membership Engagement committee to help our clubs grow. Thirty percent of our clubs in the Michigan District have 15 or fewer members. We need to make sure that these clubs are receiving our constant attention.
In addition, we need to explore building new clubs in communities that we are currently not serving. These communities include the city of Dearborn and our Indigenous Peoples communities. New clubs are being considered for other communities, as well. To help ensure that every new club we build in 2025-2026 will thrive, the district will donate $500 to the new club.
Our new Optimist International President, Tom Kendo, outlined his Presidential Incentive Plan for club recognition at the International Convention in St. Louis this past July. In addition to Honor Club and Distinguished Club recognition he has added a new category of club recognition. It is called the Merit Club and requires that a club grow by a net +0 members and make a $100 contribution to the Optimist International Foundation during 2025-2026. We need to take it upon ourselves that every club in the Michigan District achieves at a minimum the Merit Club recognition. Of course, we look forward to many of our clubs achieving honor and distinguished club status, as well.
Our marketing and communications team has been doing a remarkable job conveying information to our current members. One thing that we also need to focus on is spreading our message to those who are not members of Optimist International. Therefore, I strongly encourage our clubs to embrace and engage in producing podcasts for their respective communities to highlight their club’s accomplishments and give members of the community a reason to become involved with their club.
As the year progresses you will hear more from me about the goals being set by our various committees.
I look forward to seeing you at our 1st Q Gathering at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Auburn hills on November 8 and remember to “Bee the Difference” for this upcoming year.
Michelle Kauffold
Scholarship Committee