DEARBORN — Mahmoud Abbas Rizk is the first winner of the Boy Scouts of America Mahican District Henry Ford College Endowed Eagle Scout Scholarship.
Rizk will be awarded this scholarship during the BSA Mahican District 27th Annual Community Breakfast at 7 a.m. May 15 at Park Place Banquet Hall, 23400 Park St. Former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, who was an Eagle Scout growing up in Cassopolis, will be the keynote speaker at the breakfast, the proceeds of which will benefit youth from the Dearborn and Downriver communities.
“In recent years, Scouting has enjoyed a resurgence of sorts, and I hope my participation May 15 will contribute to moving this renaissance forward in the tri-county area and especially within the city of Detroit,” Archer said. “Any time business people and Scouting volunteers come together to raise funds to support Scouting and – in the case of the Mahican District – endow a scholarship for a well-deserving Eagle Scout, I get excited about the promise of collaborations between education and Scouting. This is the American way.
“There is a Tufts University study on this very subject, which found that ‘if a child spends five years in Scouting, their chances for high school and college graduation increases significantly.’ Scouting changes the trajectory of young people’s lives. Who wouldn’t want to witness these results?”
Gary Kuhlmann, owner of Park Place and an HFC alumnus; Karl Fava, a Dearborn accountant and HFC adjunct instructor; Brad Simmons, director of Community Outreach for Ford Motor Co.; and Dr. Walt Talamonti, Medical Director/Clinical Operations for Ford Motor Co., created the scholarship.
The scholarship will benefit Eagle Scouts living in the communities serviced by the Mahican District who will attend HFC. The Mahican District is part of the Great Lakes Field Service Council, which serves more than 18,000 young people in the tri-county area, including school districts and communities in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and Downriver.
Rizk is a senior at Fordson High School and a member of Troop 1172 of Dearborn. He plans to study engineering at HFC upon enrollment for the Fall 2018 semester.
“It’s a great honor and a great opportunity for me to go to HFC,” Rizk said. “Being a Scout has taught me leadership skills and given me the opportunity to become independent. These skills will come in handy when I start college.”
Also attending the breakfast are A. Reginald Best Jr., HFC vice president of Institutional Advancement; Dearborn Public Schools Supt. Glenn Maleyko; and Dearborn Mayor John O’Reilly Jr.
“I am very proud of this newly-created scholarship that will benefit Eagle Scouts who plan to continue their education at HFC. This is an exciting opportunity,” Best said. “It is also an honor to have Mayor Archer speak at the ceremony where Mr. Rizk will receive the scholarship. Mayor Archer has been a longtime, dedicated supporter of the programs and services that give youth the opportunity to learn leadership and life skills.”
To register, go to scoutingevent.com/272-2018MahicanCFOS.