The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation recently awarded $34,000 in scholarships to students across the state. The foundation annually recognizes Ohio students for their academic effort, community engagement and career interests that link agriculture to community service, education or scientific research. A Richland County graduate was one of those honored.
Cindy Hollingshead Scholarship:
Recipients are Sarah Lehner of Delaware County; Meredith Oglesby of Highland County; Katie Frost of Fayette County; Todd Peterson of Fayette County; Louisa Pullins of Wood County; Sumedha Kappagantula of Butler County; Kady Davis of Carroll County; Kaitlyn Evans of Richland County and Danielle Leeper of Union County. This fund honors Cynthia Anne (Cindy) Hollingshead for her 39 years of service as Ohio Farm Bureau’s executive secretary, as well as a lifetime of volunteer commitment to local government and community service activities. Financial assistance goes to students who are pursuing careers focused on agriculture, community service and association leadership.
Darwin Bryan Scholarship:
Recipients are Kristen Eisenhauer of Richland County; Katie Frost of Fayette County; Melanie Fuhrmann of Scioto County; Sarah Lehner of Delaware County and Todd Peterson of Fayette County. This fund was established in 1985 in honor of Darwin R. Bryan whose enthusiastic leadership during his 37 years of service to Ohio Farm Bureau has been an inspiration to rural youth throughout Ohio. The fund assists students who have been active in Farm Bureau’s youth program and/or whose parents are Farm Bureau members.
Kristen Eisenhauer is a graduate of Shelby High School and currently attends The Ohio State University in Columbus.
Jack Fisher Scholarship:
Recipients are Cora Dorman of Licking County; Kady Davis of Carroll County; Mary Baker of Wayne County; Garrett Stanfield of Adams County; Todd Peterson of Fayette County; Meredith Oglesby of Highland County; Savannah Ireland of Jackson County; Kayla Walls of Mercer County; Abigail Durheim of Delaware County, and Sarah Lehner of Delaware County. This fund is named after John C. “Jack” Fisher, Ohio Farm Bureau’s executive vice president for 20 years. His vision for this scholarship is to enable people to acquire the necessary tools for a more fulfilling life.
Kenny Walter Scholarship Fund:
Kady Davis of Carroll County and Cora Dorman of Licking County received this award, which honors Kenny Walter, a long-time Farm Bureau staff member, leader and advocate for rural Ohio. The fund provides scholarships to students pursuing post-secondary education in agriculture who come from the 29 northeastern counties Walter served as a regional supervisor and organization director.
Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation Scholar Award:
Receiving this award are Clare Sollars of Fayette County; Todd Peterson of Fayette County; Garrett Stanfield of Adams County and Meredith Oglesby of Highland County. This award recognizes students for academic effort, community service and career interests that use agriculture to enhance the partnership between producers and consumers in rural, suburban and/or urban settings.
Women’s Leadership in Agriculture Scholarship:
Receiving the scholarship are Sarah Lehner of Delaware County; Melanie Fuhrmann of Scioto County; Katie Frost of Fayette County; Meredith Oglesby of Highland County; Holly Schmenk of Putnam County; Olivia Blay of Portage County and Courtney Heiser of Seneca County. This scholarship is for students who have chosen a career path that benefits agricultural or community development such as food production, scientific research, education/outreach or leadership development. The program was established by an endowment from the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Fund, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee.
For more information about Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation and its mission, visit ofbf.org/foundation.
