Hannah R. Winkler Memorial Pavilion and Interactive Dance Arch
The Hannah R. Winkler Memorial Fund made donations to provide a pavilion, interactive dance arch feature, two benches and a picnic table at Gratiot Park. The pavilion provides a place to gather at the park and protection from the sun - an often overlooked, but important component of an ability-inclusive park. We are thankful for the opportunity to participate in this project within our community and look forward to contributing in the future to similar projects that fit within our goal to honor Hannah’s life by providing scholarships and various supports for those with visible and invisible disabilities. The grand opening for Gratiot Park took place on June 8, 2023.
Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, donors, friends, and family members that have helped make this goal possible - it came to fruition sooner that we expected.
Port Huron to celebrate new Gratiot Park play equipment that's "accessible for all".
Port Huron opens new, inclusive park.
Port Huron Parks & Recreation Gratiot Park Grand Opening Press Release.
2023 Scholarship Recipients
We picked two recipients for the 2023 Hannah. R. Winkler Memorial Scholarship! They are Kobie Down (Carsonville-Port Sanilac High School) and Katherine Conlee (Croswell-Lexington High School). Congratulations!
Kobie Down
Kobie graduated from Carsonville-Port Sanilac High School where he participated heavily in student counsel as the secretary and vice president. He is attending St. Clair County Community college and plans on becoming a certified radiologic technologist and eventually specialize in magnetic resonance imaging, computer tomography, ultrasound or nuclear medicine.
Congratulations Kobie!
Katherine Conlee
Katherine graduated from Croswell-Lexington High School. Katherine’s hobby is creative writing, and she has thought about pursuing journalism or another English-related field. She has completed an internship with and is now a part-time employee at Sanilac Broadcasting Company. She has been active in a wide variety of extracurricular activities such as Making Visions a Reality, National Honor Society Academic Games, Art Club, and the Joyful Noise choir.
Congratulations Katherine!
2022 Scholarship Recipients
We picked FOUR recipients for the 2022 Hannah. R. Winkler Memorial Scholarship! They are Joshua Nelson (New life Christian Academy), Emma Wilson (St. Clair High School), Anthony Ward (Virtual Learning Academy), and Erin Enderby (St. Clair High School)! Congratulations all, we hope that this year is full of blessings as you begin your college careers. We know that you all will accomplish great things.
JOSHUA NELSON
Joshua recently graduated from New Life Christian Academy where he was passionate about running cross country. He plans on earning an associate degree from SC4 and then transferring to Walsh College to complete a bachelor’s degree in Finance. Joshua would like to pursue a career as a financial advisor - working under an established advisor after he completes his education and pursues licensure.
Congratulations Joshua!
EMMA WILSON
Emma participated in varsity sideline cheer, varsity competitive cheer, percussion ensemble, and jazz band at Saint Clair High School. She will be pursuing a duel degree in electrical engineering and engineer physics. She is passionate about the military and has thought about following in the footsteps of her brother who works as an engineer for the Department of Defense.
Congratulations Emma!
ANTHONY WARD
Anthony intends on completing his general education at SC4 and then continue his education at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. He enjoys golfing, swimming, family vacations, and helping out his elderly neighbors with projects. He ultimately desires to become a catholic priest as his faith is of upmost importance in his life him and has helped him overcome some unexpected trials of illness his young life.
Congratulations Anthony!
ERIN ENDERBY
Erin participated in many extracurriculars in high school, such as varsity competitive cheer and marching band taking on the leadership role as drum major in her senior year. Erin is pursuing an associates degree in nursing from SC4 and then plans to transfer to a university that offers a RN-BSN program. Erin hopes to volunteer at Spero Pregnancy Center and work for a children’s hospital after graduation. Eventually she would like to find her way into pediatric anesthesia.
Congratulations Erin!
2021 Scholarship Recipients
We picked THREE recipients for the 2021 Hannah. R. Winkler Memorial Scholarship! They are Bryce Stoutenburg (Imlay City High School), Natalie Hussen (Marysville High School), and Isabel Allen (Marysville High School)! Congratulations all, we hope that this year is full of blessings as you begin your college careers.
Bryce Stoutenburg
Bryce, a recent graduate of Imlay City High School played football, bowling and track while maintaining honor roll status. After community college, he plans on transferring to a university to study Architecture with a focus on residential housing. His football coach let us know that he has a positive attitude, incredible work ethic, and a willingness to lead by example with quiet strength.
Congratulations Bryce!
Natalie Hussen
Natalie graduated from Marysville High School where she was captain of her volleyball and basketball teams. Her aspirations are to major in Speech Pathology at a Michigan University and continue on to graduate studies. Her desire is to help children and those affected by lifechanging events. Her chemistry teacher described her as the ultimate teammate - a person who is considerate, builds up her peers, charismatic, and selfless.
Congratulations Natalie!
ISABEL ALLEN
During Isabel’s time at Marysville High School she participated in volleyball, marching band, and student council. After compleSABEL ting general studies at SC4, she plans to transfer to MSU and eventually complete graduate studies to become a board certified genetic counselor. Her employer divulged that she is a hard worker, dependable, and a respected member of her team all while continuing to be an outstanding student in all respects.
Congratulations Isabel!
2020 Scholarship Recipient
Our family was happy to receive many wonderful applicants for the first annual Hannah R. Winkler Memorial Scholarship. We created a process to review every applicant and it went pretty smoothly for our first time undertaking such a task! It is difficult to convey to candidates what ”embodying” Hannah means. We relayed that she was creative, loving, and nurturing and that we hoped the recipient would continue her legacy of kindness, joy, and selflessness. We began with a “blind” review of candidate’s essay answers, narrowed down the pool, then considered their applications and recommendation letters. Each member of the family announced who their top three candidates were and described why. Even though many of us valued one attribute or answer over another, and our rubric methods looked wildly different, we eventually - unanimously - agreed upon this year’s recipient! We are happy to award this year’s scholarship to Kaitlyn Evans and look forward to increasing the recipient list in the years to come.
Kaitlyn Evans is the 2020 Hannah R. Winkler Memorial Scholarship recipient. Kaitlyn recently graduated from Imlay City High School. She will be attending SC4 in the fall. After SC4 she plans to transfer to a Michigan university with a goal of becoming a licensed speech-language pathologist. Kaitlyn’s essay answers were heartfelt, unassuming, and comedic. There were so many instances of tone and expression that resembled Hannah’s. After the blind reading of her essay answers, our family members each pointed out the apparent parallels and the little nuances that caught our attention and we ended up reminiscing about Hannah. These little pieces of similarity between Kaitlyn and Hannah were abundant. Once we brought the candidate’s applications and recommendation letters into the mix, we were even more convinced that she was a worthy candidate. We learned that, not only is Kaitlyn funny, honest, and joyful, she is a very accomplished student and leader. Kaitlyn was the senior captain of her varsity volleyball team, president of the French club, highly involved in student counsel, and served as her class president. Kaitlyn’s letters of recommendation were sincere - each giving additional insight into her positive characteristics. Her love for nurturing children shined through in these letters. We learned that she volunteered in the past for Volleytots, was an assistant teacher at her church, tutored a second-grade student in math, is a trusted babysitter, and is a conscientious and involved member of her neighborhood.
We hope that Kaitlyn enjoys nothing but success in her future endeavors. We are happy that we get to be a small support of those plans.