Charlotte Gordon Presented Quentin Sammis Award

Charlotte Gordon has many academic and career interests. She’s been considering studying biology or science, technology and society at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where the Huntington High School Class of 2024 valedictorian will be attending in the fall.

The Kiwanis Club of Huntington was so impressed with Ms. Gordon that the organization presented her with its prestigious Quentin Sammis Memorial Award in recognition of her work as president of Huntington’s Key Club chapter and her potential to spur positive change in the world around her.

The Quentin Sammis Memorial Award is given to individuals who show “great passion” for service to their school and community, according to Kiwanis Club officials W. Gerard Asher and John Reilly, who presented a scholarship to Ms. Gordon during Huntington High School’s senior scholarship awards ceremony.

Ms. Gordon was recognized with a special certificate along with a check for $1,000, which represents the stipend that comes with the Quentin Sammis Memorial Award.

An Advanced Placement International Diploma recipient and AP Scholar with Distinction honoree, Ms. Gordon was concert mistress of the high school orchestra, editor in chief of The Dispatch student newspaper and publicist of the Environmental Club.

Born May 16, 1924, Quentin Byron Sammis was a member of Huntington’s Class of 1942. He went on to serve his country as an ensign in the United States Navy, earn an electrical engineering degree at Georgia School of Technology (he began his college studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and an MBA at Harvard Business School, serve as owner and president of Coldwell Banker Sammis real estate and Sammis, Smith & Brush insurance and lead Friends World College as its president.

Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers, dedicated to changing the world, one child and one community at a time. The local chapter believes that Ms. Gordon has the ability and determination to achieve great things for society and change the world for the better as she moves on to college.

The Kiwanis Club considers the sponsorship of its service leadership programs, such as the Key Club to be among the most important projects it undertakes. The Key Club seeks to develop leadership, build character and provide service to the school and community.

Mr. Sammis founded the Townwide Fund of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council and at one time or another was integrally involved in the YMCA, Huntington Hospital, the Visiting Nurse Service and the Family Service League. The Huntington High School graduate served in the US Navy during World War II and in the U.S. Navy Reserve for two decades.

Mr. Sammis, whose family has lived in Huntington village for generations dating to the Revolutionary War, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his loved ones on August 29, 2007 after battling cancer for 13 months. He was 83.