Friends of the May Fair to Award Scholarships to Local Ag Students

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Special to Dixon Patch

Seven college scholarships totaling $12,500 will be awarded this year by Friends of the Dixon May Fair to Solano County students planning a career in agriculture or an agriculturally-related field.

In the four-year college category, the Friends will award one $3,000 award and three $2,000 awards. In the community college category: one $1500 scholarship and two $1000 scholarships.

The Friends, an all-volunteer organization headed by Donnie Huffman of Vacaville, is the fundraising arm of the and raises funds through the sale of beverages.

Only Solano County residents planning a career in agriculture of an agricultural-related field are eligible to apply. They must be enrolled in or accepted for enrollment in a four-year accredited college or university in California or an accredited community college in California. Completed applications must be postmarked no later than 5 p.m., March 1.

The Ester Armstrong Memorial Scholarship will go to the top applicant in the four-year college category, that is, someone who has been accepted into a four-year college or is already enrolled, said scholarship coordinator JoAn Giannoni, of Dixon, secretary of the Friends. Applicants must be majoring in an agricultural-related field, which can encompass dozens of majors, including agricultural business, forestry, pomology, nematology, plant pathology, viticulture, wildlife and fisheries biology, and child, family and consumer science.

Giannoni said the recipients must have at least a 2.0 grade point average or be a student in good standing. They are to include a copy of their transcript (accumulative and current), along with two letters of recommendation. One letter must be from a professional educator.

Preference will be given to individuals with broad personal, civic and academic experience. Applicants will be evaluated on the basis of scholarship, personal commitment and their established goals, leadership potential, and civic accomplishments. Desired but not mandatory is 4-H, FFA or Grange experience. 

Each applicant must submit a personal statement of no more than two typed pages, double-spaced, explaining "why you are pursuing your desired career and what you hope to accomplish," Giannoni said. 

Each packet must include one set of originals and one set of copies of each of the required forms. Only official Friends of the Fair application forms will be accepted, Giannoni said, and only complete packets will be considered. 

Continuing scholarship winners can re-apply up to four times.  Other eligibility criteria is on the Friends’ website at http://www.friendsofthefair.org/scholarship.php.  Completed application packets must be postmarked by 5 p.m., March 1, and mailed to the Scholarship Committee, Friends of the Fair Scholarship Committee, P.O. Box 242, Dixon, CA 95620. 

All scholarship checks will be paid directly to the recipient upon receipt of proof of enrollment. All monies may be used only for tuition, fees, books, materials and supplies, housing and meals purchased on campus.  Recipients will be notified by mail after April 15.

Last year two Vacaville twins studying at the University of California, Davis shared the $3000 Ester Armstrong Memorial Award: Courtney and Valerie Korff, each majoring in animal science and each planning to obtain a doctorate in veterinary medicine.

The scholarship memorializes fair industry veteran Ester Armstrong of Rockville, a former director of the California Division of Fairs and Expositions who served as interim CEO of the Dixon May Fair for three years, beginning in May 2006. She died in May 2009 after a long struggle with cancer. 

The $2000 scholarship recipients:  

--Stephanie Calestini of Dixon, who listed her college as California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo and her major as veterinary medicine.

--Melissa Di Francesco of Vacaville, majoring in neurobiology, physiology and behavior at UC Davis. She plans to receive her doctorate in veterinary medicine

--Charles Hamilton of Rio Vista, majoring in agribusiness management and minoring in crop science at Cal Poly

$1500 recipient:

Nathaniel Benning of Dixon, American River College where he is pursuing a degree in degree in agriculture and industrial technology and welding. 

$1000 recipients:  

--Hunter Kett of Dixon, who listed his college as Cal Poly and his major as agricultural engineering.

--Cheyenne Dana of Rio Vista, who listed her college as Modesto Junior College and her major as animal science and veterinary medicine.

For further information, contact the Friends of the Fair, P.O. Box 242, Dixon, CA 95620, access  the Web site,http://www.friendsofthefair.org/, or telephone Giannoni at  (707) 678-5618  or Claudia Huffman of Vacaville at (707) 448-0130.