The Medford Lakes Country Club will host its 30th annual Kiki Konstantinos Scholarship Golf Tournament on July 25 to raise funds for district students in the next school year.
Konstantinos was superintendent of the Lenape Regional High School District for more than three decades, with 40,000 students educated under his leadership. The scholarship foundation named for him is a nonprofit that was established in 1993 and is dedicated to fostering excellence in district education through the awarding of individual college scholarships to outstanding students.
The foundation raises funds through golf event ticket sales, donations and sponsorships. The tournament draws an average of about 130 people a year.
Steve Zeuli, an original member of the foundation who became its chairman 14 years ago, holds its mission close as an alumnus of the district’s Cherokee High School.
“This foundation was set up in his (Konstantinos’) honor to recognize what I would consider him being the architect of the district,” he said.
Students at the district schools can apply for the Konstantinos awards through a school scholarship selection committee that helps match them with the scholarships for which they qualify. According to Zeuli, the criteria for the Konstantinos scholarship was created by the former superintendent to measure a student’s academic, athletic and extracurricular activities.
“As Kiki called them, the three As,” Zeuli said of the requirements. “They present a well-rounded student.”
For the golf event’s 30th year, the foundation has added additional, $2,000 scholarships at each district school, including Cherokee, Shawnee, Lenape and Seneca high schools. Twenty students per year can apply for the awards; since its inception, the foundation has given a total of $617,000 in scholarships.
“This is the way that we recognize his achievements and also our way of showing appreciation for what he’s done for our kids and for the community,” Zeuli said Konstantinos.
Registration for the golf tournament will begin at 11:30 a.m., with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost per golfer is $210, which includes greens fee, cart, lunch, prizes and the awards dinner.
For more information, visit https://www.kikiopen.org/
