It was golfing for a good cause when, on July 22, the K. Kiki Konstantinos Scholarship Foundation held the 22nd annual Kiki Konstantinos Scholarship Golf Tournament at Little Mill Country Club in Marlton.
With their entry fee, golfers were treated to lunch, prizes, a cart, greens fees, an awards dinner and more, with all the money raised going to scholarships for students throughout the four schools in the Lenape Regional High School District.
The annual scholarships honor the memory of K. Kiki Konstantinos, the former longtime Lenape superintendent who held the position for 30 years from 1963 to his retirement in 1993.
Each year, a total of 16 students, four at each district school, are awarded a $2,000 scholarship, and this year the foundation will surpass $400,000 in money awarded since its establishment.
Foundation Co-Chairperson and Evesham Township Council member Steve Zeuli was on hand at the event to greet guests and oversee the event’s success.
Zeuli said Konstantinos’ amazing 30-year career as superintendent was unheard of, and Konstantinos should be remembered for setting the high standard of excellence the district still achieves to this day.
“He is the one that I believe that set the tone for the excellence in the district,” Zeuli said. “If you were able to ask him, I think that would be the thing that he’s most proud of, the standard of excellence that he set, not just for the students, but for the faculty and the staff.”
A separate committee within the foundation determines scholarship recipients through the use of standards set by Konstantinos himself, and Zeuli said he believes that’s why people can look at the past recipients and see truly deserving students.
“There are standards that were set up by Kiki himself,” Zeuli said. “He emphasized academics, athletics and activities, and it’s got to be an equal combination of all those things. I think if you look at the past winners, you’ll see some really terrific kids.”
This year’s event, like past events, was almost at full capacity, and Zeuli said it always gets a great reception.
“We’ll have 120 golfers here today,” Zeuli said at the tournament. “I think we can take around 122 or 124. It’s a full day — lunch, golf, cocktails, dinner, a lot of raffle prizes, and we have never had a rainout in 22 years.”
One golfer at the event was Greg D’Orazio from AJM Insurance, which sponsored the lunch before the start of the tournament.
D’Orazio said the foundation and the scholarships it provides were definitely worth supporting.
“They’re great things to be able to support in the community and for local business to be able to give back,” D’Orazio said. “It means a lot. We’re happy to participate, absolutely. I’m looking forward to it.”
Echoing D’Orazio’s sentiments was John Comegno, with John Comegno Law Group, one of the event’s sponsors for the past decade.
Comegno said his group admires the phenomenal educational services the district provides, and he’s glad the foundation provides a way that allows people to support the Lenape District and its students.
“I’ve played in this for close to 20 years,” Comegno said. “It’s a really fun outing, a great spirit. Little Mill is a great track, and the foundation does a great job of organizing this.
