Members of the Rotary Club of Palm Valley recently met at Nona Blue Restaurant in Sawgrass Center to celebrate the memory of their past president, Jeff Hart, and to present a scholarship in his honor to a local high school student. This year, that honor went to Nease High School senior Shivam Shah.
The Jeff Hart Memorial Service Above Self Scholarship program is open to juniors and seniors at Nease and Ponte Vedra high schools. It recognizes the applicant who best represents the Rotary International motto of “Service Above Self,” and those qualities of service which Hart exemplified in his own life. A founding member and past president of the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset (now Palm Valley), Hart dedicated his life to his family, the local and international communities, his faith and the nation. He was particularly devoted to serving youth. He was the long serving Rotary Interact advisor to Nease High School as well as the district chair for one of top three Rotary Youth Exchange programs in North America. Shortly before his passing, Hart was awarded the distinguished Rotary District 6970 Brent Griffith Service Award.
This year, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, student Service Above Self Scholarship applicants still found many creative ways to continue to serve community and beyond. The 2021 winner, Shah, founded and directed two new clubs at Nease to respond to the needs he saw. Working together with local charity A Hope, Shah started I-Impact and, under his direction, he and his team raised more than $30,000 for youth education and $10,000 for the Pace Center. Some of the youth education funds are destined for computer labs in India. Also under Shah’s leadership, his organization raised funds to provide more than 22,000 masks and 2,500 hygiene kits, as well as 440 food kits for needy children in India. He also founded and directed Youth in Business, a three-week summer camp to teach students business concepts, which now has over 20 chapters. These, together with many other service contributions, coupled with his academic success as an IB student, and devotion to his family, were outstanding reasons to select Shah as the recipient of the Jeff Hart Service Above Self Scholarship for 2021. Shah was joined by his parents, Hemant and Ami Shah and his paternal grandmother at the ceremony, where he shared his award-winning essay with the club members and also announced that he has accepted a scholarship to the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, where he plans to study business beginning this August.
