Laces 4 Life Banquet

Former Kewaunee High School and Wisconsin Badgers football star Tanor Bortolini, now the starting center for the Indianapolis Colts, will be a special guest speaker at a Friday, May 8 event at Waterfront Banquet Hall in Kewaunee.

The Laces 4 Life Student-Athlete Award Banquet will celebrate talented youth while raising awareness on mental health, and the importance of kindness. It’s open to the public. Individual tickets are $30 and tables of eight are $200. Tickets can be obtained via QR codes on Play for Owen or 23’s Cleats 4 Kidz Facebook pages, or at laces_4_life on Instagram.

Faculty and coaches from Kewaunee, Algoma, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, Sevastopol and Gibraltar High Schools have until April 15 to nominate student-athletes who are excelling in school, in the community, and on the court, field, course, or mat — or even in the pool — for a shot at being honored at the banquet.

A $2,300 scholarship and cleat award will be presented to one lucky winner in memory of KHS student-athlete Owen Vaughn, who died by suicide in February of 2025. Presenting will be 23’s Cleats 4 Kidz in collaboration with Play 4 Owen and Green Bay artist (and Sturgeon Bay graduate) Zane Statz.

A nonprofit organization, 23’s Cleats for Kidz was founded by 9-year-old Bentley Gerczak of Green Bay. Now 11 — and the board president — Gerczak gets help from the VP (his dad Jim) and the secretary/treasurer (his mom Kirstin).

The tie-in is that Owen’s dad, Chris Vaughn, is friends with Jim.

When Bentley won a pair of cleats and wanted to give back, he got the help of his parents to continue his passion by starting 23’s Cleats for Kidz. The organization’s goal is providing new athletic footwear to youth in need so they can perform at their highest abilities.

According to the group’s website, “Our mission is to collect cleats for kids, providing not just footwear, but a pathway to dreams, joy and boundless possibilities. Join us as we step up, lace up for the next generation’s journey.

Every knot tells a story of hope.”

During last season’s run to the state baseball tournament, the Kewaunee Storm had a pair of custom baseball cleats in memory of Owen Vaughn every step of the way. The Gerczaks and Statz collaborated on the design, and the cleats were presented to the Vaughn family April 15, 2025.

The idea for the “Laces 4 Life” scholarship and award came in the off-season, and plans are for it to be an annual event.

Learn more about the mission of 23’s Cleats for Kidz — and how you can donate money or give used athletic footwear for a recycling program — at www.23scleats4kidz.com/about-us-mission/.

For more information on donating toward the student-athlete banquet, reach out to Kirstin Gerczak at 920-371-8391.