Hot Box Chicken Fingers and Tots introduced a scholarship to five high schools in Athens County on May 1, 2025. The scholarship included $2,500 and was to be split between the five schools, for each student to receive $500. There were no academic requirements needed for the application, just an essay prompt.
The students of Alexander High School, Athens High School, Federal Hocking High School, Nelsonville-York High School and Trimble High School were free to apply to this scholarship, made available by co-owner Kevin McNamara.
The application deadline closed Jan. 23 and the winners will be announced by Feb. 16, giving winning students time to look at colleges and decide before applications close.
McNamara said this is his first scholarship, and he created it to support the students of Athens County. According to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, Athens County was found to have the highest poverty level in the state at 25%.
McNamara has worked in higher education finance for over 25 years and has always tried to encourage his employees and other students around him to apply for college. He also helps them through a plan to accomplish their goals.
McNamara said he tried to make the application process as easy as possible and partnered with Bold.org to set it up. Students were able to apply to the Hot Box scholarship, as well as view other scholarships available for them.
“My hope was that somebody might solely (visit the website) for my scholarship, but see there's an opportunity to win this one or that one or the other,” McNamara said.
McNamara said Denise McNamara, his wife and co-owner of Hot Box, encouraged the high school students working at their old franchise in Cleveland to talk to Kevin McNamara about applying to college.
“I would sit down with their parents and come up with a plan, and pretty soon we started having our workers graduating college,” Kevin McNamara said. “There were years that the restaurant wasn't making much money, but we were doing a lot of good in the community, so that just kept us going.”
Kevin McNamara said he has not yet looked through the applications, but should be receiving some essays from Bold shortly, after it reviews and filters out some essays. He said he intends to dig deeper and read the rest of the essays to see if anything jumps out to him.
The scholarship was designed for Athens County students, regardless of GPA and testing scores, to have the opportunity and the push to pursue higher education. Kevin McNamara said it is fulfilling to be able to support students in this way.
“The A students, they already have their sights on what they're going to do after graduating,” Kevin McNamara said. “It's the C students, it's the B-minus students, it's the D-plus students. It's those kids who are thinking, ‘Oh, I'd never make it. I don't know if I could try it. I don't have the money to try it.’”
Kevin McNamara said he would love to continue the scholarship and hopes to be able to increase the size and amount of scholarships, which he said does not have a limit, but Hot Box depends on the community to make that happen.
Dave Voge, the general manager of Hot Box, said he has been working at the restaurant since October 2025. When Voge moved from Charleston, South Carolina, he found the restaurant while looking for work.
Voge said the scholarship is beneficial for students because it does not have to be used for a traditional college. It can be used for a trade school, technical college or community college.
Voge said working at Hot Box has been great, and the staff is awesome to work with, stating they go above and beyond. As for working for Kevin McNamara, he said he enjoys working for someone who is “community-oriented.”
“He's always looking for something to do for Athens,” Voge said. “When SNAP was down, he was providing free meals for two weeks. He was providing free meals for people that needed it.”
OU students have also expressed their appreciation for Hot Box, for both their food and supportive outreach.
Morgan Dilbone, a junior studying music production, said Hot Box has better chicken than other places around.
Dilbone said scholarships pay for most of her college tuition, and she is happy to see Hot Box supporting the students who need the help through school.
“We're in the Appalachian area, so we are in a poorer area,” Dilbone said. “If I had access to something like that, I would definitely hop on it because scholarships helped me basically come to school.”
Lila Alix, a sophomore studying integrated language arts education, said she thinks Hot Box is fresh, and she enjoys supporting local businesses.
“I'm an education major, so I think scholarships are so vital,” Alix said. “It's really important that we have local businesses helping local areas, too.”
