Board of Directors

President - Linda Syfrett, Retired Pharmacis, IRCC Board of Trustees, 4-H Leader                                                       

Vice President - Mary Hurley, Assitant Superintendent for Instructional Services                                                   

Secretary - Ken Kenworthy, Assistant Superintendent for Administration

Treasurer, Facilitator - Sharon Vinson, Shared Services Network of Okeechobee

Parliamentarian - Debbie Clements, University of Florida Extension Agent

Directors:

Russ Brown, Principal, Seminole Tribe Charter School                                                                         

Tom Conely, Attorney, Comely and Conely                                                                          

Dr. Patricia Cooper, Superintendent, Okeechobee County School District                                                                

Mike Costopoulos, CPA, Costopoulos & Helton PA                                                                    

Beth Lehman, Co-owner Lehman Auto Body

Danny Mullins, Past President, Retired Superintendent of the Okeechobee County School District                                                                      

Kelly Owens, School Board Member, Big Brothers/Big Sisters                                                                         

Gretchen Robertson, State Farm Insurance Agent                                                                 

Jeff Sabin,Waste Management                                                                        

Ben Sims, The Tucker Group                                                                            

Tabitha Trent, Riverside National Bank Branch Manager, mother and community member

Celeste Watford, Okeechobee CountyTax Collector                                                             

Highlights of Foundation Programs:

The Okeechobee Educational Foundation, Inc. was formed in 1981 by interested school employees, parents and business persons.  The Foundation has primarily been focused on increasing the number and amount of donated scholarships for graduates of Okeechobee High School.  This year, 85 donors used the services of the Foundation to provide 201 scholarships totaling $196,000 to 2006 OHS graduates!

An ongoing goal for the Foundation is the encouragement and recruitment of minority teaching candidates.  In 2000-2001 the "Grown Our Own" Scholarship was created and awarded for the first time.  In 2006 with generous community support, we sponsored another OHS graduate.  We look forward to continuing to award the "Grown Our Own" Scholarship each year.

The Okeechobee Educational Foundation through the payroll deduction plan with Okeechobee County School Board employees and United Way presented $1,800 in scholarships to 2006 OHS students.

Numerous reading, math and science mini-grants have been awarded since 2000. During the 2005-2006 school year the Foundation, with matching funds from the state of Florida, was able to award $8,000 in reading mini-grants to local teachers.     
 
Kiwanis partnered with OEF again in 2005-2006 and awarded three $500 elementary math mini-grants in memory of Marge Blair to local teachers.

The Okeechobee Community Theatre also partnered with OEF in 2004-2005 to award ten $500 arts mini-grants to local teachers.                                          
 
New in 2005 the Achieving Excellence Campaign.  Community members and businesses were encouraged to contribute to the Foundation to support their endeavors:  $2,500 Platinum, $1,000 Gold, $500 Silver and Friends of the Foundation.  Over $9,400 was donated during this campaign.

Special Thanks:

The Okeechobee Educational Foundation, Inc. would like to thank the many individuals and businesses who have donated their dollars to provide scholarships!  Your generosity has given many students the opportunity to reach for a brigher future and obtain their dreams!

Updated: 8/22/07