WASHINGTON — The Optimist Club presented scholarships to six local student-athletes on Tuesday night at King Chicken in Washington.

The Optimist Club is an organization run solely by volunteers. They serve the children of the community by offering fun programs to be involved in and providing community service project opportunities.

This year, they awarded six scholarships to deserving recipients. The Optimist Club Youth Appreciation Scholarships are awarded to students maintaining a 2.5 or higher GPA and have been involved in extracurricular activities and volunteered at their school or in their community. Each applicant writes an essay based on “Optimist Club Creed”, emphasizing being strong, forgiving others and always improving yourself to be the best you can be.

One scholarship was awarded to Washington High School’s Tim Anglim. He plans to attend Barton College next year to play soccer, and will major in nursing. Anglim will graduate in the top 10 of his class. He played soccer and tennis for Washington all four years, and he also served as marshal and vice president of the student government.

Southside’s Luke Matthews, a recipient of the Youth Appreciation Scholarship, is also graduating in the top 10 in his class. Matthews played football, soccer, track, golf and basketball. He was Marshall and a member of the Beta Club. Matthews plans to attend East Carolina in the fall and North Carolina State University next spring to study dentistry.

Another Southside athlete, Carleigh Findley, was also awarded  a scholarship. Findley was the captain of her soccer team and played basketball for the Seahawks. She was a part of the student government, a member of the Beta Club, and Beaufort County Community College’s Gamma Beta Phi. Findley will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She plans to become a pediatrician and would like to travel to a third world country to help improve medical care.

The Linley Gibbs scholarship was awarded to Washington Montessori Public Charter School’s Domenic Correa. Gibbs was a member of the Optimist Club for many years.

Correa was on his high school soccer, basketball and cross-country team. He played soccer with the optimist club for nine years and coached for five. Correa plans to attend James Madison University to major in mechanical and design engineering.

Earl Mitchell was a charter member of the Optimist Club. He worked hard to raise money and got the club involved with football and soccer programs. Mitchell’s memory is honored each year with the Earl Mitchell scholarship, because he loved the Optimist Club and what it did for the community.

The Earl Mitchell scholarship was awarded to Washington High’s Noah Roberson. He participated in Optimist Club sports since he was five years old, and he worked as a referee for a couple of years. He played tennis and was a member of the disk golf club at school. Roberson plans to attend Beaufort County Community College taking transfer classes and would like to become a nurse will minoring in psychology and sociology.

A new scholarship given out by the Optimist Club is the Leland “Buddy” Baker scholarship. Baker keeps book and club reports for the club, and has been a dedicated member for 41 years.

The scholarship was awarded to Bear Grass Charter School’s Miranda Peaden. She was an A/B Honor Roll student and a member of the Beta Club. Peaden played on the first ever soccer team at Bear Grass, and played volleyball at Washington High. She plans to attend Pitt Community College to major in radiology.

The scholars enjoyed a good meal and were encouraged to be a “friend of the youth”, by coming back and joining the club when they finished college to give back to the community that gave to them.