The U.S. Kids Golf Foundation has named two members of the current graduating class of Pinecrest High School as recipients of their Volunteer Scholarship for the 16th consecutive year. Anna Depenbrock and Luxy Durbin will each receive a $750 scholarship.
J.T. Stilwell, a 2012 U.S. Kids Golf scholarship winner and a representative for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, presented the awards in honor and recognition of the more than 500 World Championship volunteers during the recent Senior Awards ceremony at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines.
This will mark the 20th year that U.S. Kids Golf, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, has held the championship on 15 of the Pinehurst area courses.
Chris Vonderkall, senior vice president of the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation, commended the Sandhills area volunteers and the student winners.
“Our volunteers are the unsung heroes of our tournament,” said Vonderkall. “And Anna and Luxy are worthy examples of the volunteers that the U.S. Kids Golf Foundation stands for. Through these scholarships, we recognize the large number of hard-working volunteers, without whom the World Championship would not be possible each year.
“We are also proud of these ladies for what they have contributed to their local communities over many years and wish them all success as Anna attends the University of Southern Indiana and Luxy goes just an hour north to N.C. State University.”
These scholarships are presented to students from the Pinehurst area who demonstrate exceptional citizenship, community service, willingness to serve as a volunteer and their involvement in extra-curricular activities.
Anna is the daughter of Kacy and Patrick Depenbrock, and she has four siblings. She plans to play Division I soccer while in college.
Soccer has been a large part of her life, as she trains, plays and refs the game, while also playing basketball and volleyball at Pinecrest. She works with her church youth group, is a member of the National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America, and is a leader in Young Life and Wyld Life, both religious organizations.
Her volunteering with U.S. Kids Golf is something she calls “one of the most rewarding volunteer opportunities” she has ever had. She was able to interact with a diverse group of people from all over the world through their love for golf. Anna is majoring in Sports Management because of her volunteer efforts with U.S. Kids Golf and what it stands for.
Luxy plans to attend N.C. State University in Raleigh and major in Mechanical Engineering. Her parents are Travis and Nicole Durbin, and she has two younger siblings.
She played basketball for Pinecrest, but her volunteering has taken up a large portion of her life. She was “touched” by her U.S. Kids Golf Parade of Nations experience and realized that different languages wouldn’t be a barrier since communicating through body language and facial expressions was effective as well. Luxy has also volunteered with her family at Operation Turkey in Fayetteville and with her Pinecrest basketball team, which put together children’s Christmas gifts for a local community.
Luxy is “very grateful for this scholarship,” and she plans to continue helping others both locally and once she moves to Raleigh. In her spare time, she works at two local food trucks and is a member of Young Life as well.
The mission of U.S. Kids Golf is to help kids have fun learning the lifelong game of golf and encourage family interaction that builds lasting memories.
Feature photo: Anna Depenbrock (left), LeighAnn Eshelman, and Luxy Durbin.
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Contributed by U.S. Kids Golf.
