The twenty-first Annual Knoxville Panther Scholarship Foundation Awards Ceremony was held May 8th at the Knoxville Performing Arts Center. Members of the Knoxville High School Class of 2024 were awarded over $84,000 in financial aid by both Community Scholarship donors and by those who donated through the Knoxville Panther Scholarship Foundation.

The Knoxville Panther Scholarship Foundation was founded on the principle that every KHS graduate that applies for a scholarship through the Foundation will receive at least one scholarship.

In the Foundation’s 21 years, 1,611 KHS graduates have applied for a scholarship and every applicant has received a scholarship.
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At this year’s award ceremony special mention was given to two long time donors. Mr. Bill Liike, a member of the KHS class of 1950 and a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame, was recognized for his generous support of our graduates since the Foundation was established in 2004. To help commemorate his support, Wayne Johnston, a member of the senior class who will be attending DMACC in the fall to pursue a career as a lineman, came on stage to receive a $1,000 Bill Liike scholarship. The awarding of that scholarship brought the total award amount provided to graduating seniors from Knoxville High School graduates by the Foundation over the past twenty-one years to just over ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

The Foundation also provides scholarships to our graduates who are in their second, third and fourth year of post-secondary education. Another long-time donor, Frances Kirkwood, was also honored at the awards ceremony. Frances passed away last year at the age of 100. Frances loved our young people and remembered them in her estate by providing for a new endowed scholarship in her name. The first recipient of the Frances Kirkwood Memorial Scholarship was in attendance to receive this new scholarship. Morgan McKay, a member of the class of 2023 and an Ag Business student at DMACC, received the scholarship from past Board President Kevin Crawford.

With the award of the Frances Kirkwood Scholarship, the total financial awards to second, third- and fourth-year KHS graduates over the past twenty-one years reached $890,000, bringing the total financial support of our graduates since the Foundation was established to over $1.9 MILLION DOLLARS.

In addition to the Frances Kirkwood Memorial Scholarship, we awarded several new scholarships for the first time. The Bill and Celia Harvey Burger Family Scholarship was funded by Bill and Celia Harvey Burger, members of the KHS class of 1956. The Philip Smethers Memorial Scholarship was funded by a bequest from Mr. Smether’s estate. The Coach John Carle and the Excellence in Education endowed scholarships were funded by the family of Paul and Lori Husted. Paul is a member of the KHS Class of 1971. Paul also organized his classmates who worked together to fund the Panther Pride Class of 1971 Endowed Scholarship.

The family and friends of Clyde Pritchard Sr. donated funds in his memory to establish the Clyde Pritchard Sr. Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will be awarded annually to a student pursuing a career in education. New scholarships were also provided by Knoxville Dental Associates and by Cushman Construction.

The Board of Directors would like to thank the businesses, organizations, individuals, families and alumni who have made this all possible. A very special thank you goes out to Don and Margaret Long who have supported every KHS graduate entering their second year of post-secondary education for the past eleven years with at least a $500 scholarship.
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You can watch our 2024 Scholarship Awards Ceremony at the following link: https://youtube.com/live/Vzk_cjGnwQs?feature=share