Submitted by the Palm Beach-Martin Counties (Fla.) Chapter

For decades, the Palm Beach-Martin Counties Chapter has recognized the top juniors in local high school Junior ROTC (JROTC) programs with the MOAA medal and the top senior with the MOAA certificate and a check for $100, which evolved into a $50 Amazon gift card.

This year, the chapter tried something different.

“Taking a page from the program run by the Central Florida Chapter, we decided to give a $1,000 scholarship to a senior nominated by the JROTC instructors at the schools and chosen by a chapter selection board,” said Col. Paul Loschiavo, USMC (Ret), chapter secretary and JROTC coordinator. “As a significant percentage of the members of the chapter actually started their careers by enlisting first, we also decided to give a $500 enlistment bonus to a JROTC cadet who was in the Delayed Entry Program en route to boot camp. Our intent was to recognize JROTC cadets who had started to follow in our footsteps.”

The chapter emailed the instructors from 14 local schools with the subject line “$1,000 Scholarship and $500 Enlistment Bonus.” It got their attention.

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Over two Saturdays, the selection board conducted 16 virtual interviews — seven nominees for the college scholarship and nine nominees for the enlistment bonus — using a scorecard to interview each candidate.

“The nominees were all very good,” Loschiavo said. “The top three or four for each award were outstanding. The final choices for both were really tough.”

The chapter presented its enlistment bonus to Cadet Bradley Vilimar, who is headed to Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., and its scholarship to Air Force JROTC cadet Bianka Garcia, who is attending college and has set her sights on being an Air Force pilot.

Loschiavo said when the chapter first started talking about a local scholarship program, there was “a lot of enthusiasm from chapter members.”

“There’s definitely something nice about handing a check to a cadet in the presence of their parents and instructors, in front of the members of the chapter,” he said. “Though this was just the first time, a member of the chapter challenged all members to contribute $100 toward next year’s program. Several members have already done so.”

Loschiavo would like to thank Lorraine Holland, president of the Central Florida Chapter, for planting the seed for this program.