OAKFIELD, Maine — The Mike and Heidi Community Fund has announced its new scholarship process for 2019. The scholarship was established in honor and memory of Michael Kitchen and Heidi Pratt of Oakfield.
The couple were active members in the greater southern Aroostook community, dedicated to enriching the lives of everyone who lived in the area. Kitchen was a graduate of Hodgdon High School and worked as an auto mechanic in Houlton. Pratt was a graduate of Southern Aroostook High School and was a social worker who worked with families with young children throughout Southern and Central Aroostook County.
The two were murdered Sept. 23, 2013, in their home in Oakfield.
The scholarship is open to all high school seniors who attend the following schools: Southern Aroostook, Houlton, Hodgdon, Katahdin, and the Greater Houlton Christian Academy. The scholarship is also open to home school students who will begin college in the fall of 2019. Students selected for the Mike and Heidi Community Fund Scholarship will receive $250 to be paid upon completion of their first semester of college (the equivalence of at least 12 credit hours) and a GPA of at least 2.7.
Scholarships are funded by proceeds from the annual “Mike and Heidi Ride,” which has taken place for four years. It was not held in 2016, at the request of the District Attorney, as jury selection was taking place at that time for the murder trial. The District Attorney was cautious that the added publicity generated by the ride may compromise the jury selection process and ultimately the trial. The Mike and Heidi Community Fund Board of Directors elected to support their request to suspend the ride.
The fifth annual ride, which will be the sixth anniversary of Mike and Heidi’s death, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Oakfield Community Center. The Mike and Heidi Community Fund has become incorporated as a public charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The organization hosted the first “Mike and Heidi Community Christmas” event in Oakfield in 2018. Santa was present with gifts, as well as handing out 100 turkeys to families attending. They also provide annual support to the Ark Animal Sanctuary in Houlton, where Mike and Heidi adopted their cat “Monkey” who also perished that fateful day.
All scholarship applications must be submitted by May 15, 2019. Applications may be accessed online at https://form.jotform.com/90415570246151. Further questions may be directed via Facebook messenger to the scholarship committee, Paul Suiter or Shannon Lloyd.
