Thanks to the generosity of individuals, families, businesses and organizations, the DeKalb County Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has expanded its scholarship program.
Donations to the Foundation’s Scholarship Fund over the past four years generated enough income to award another college scholarship.
Some donations were provided by members whose families had previously benefitted from scholarships. Other donations were given in memory of loved ones. In all cases, donors wanted to assist young people with their college education.
“Our children benefitted from Farm Bureau scholarships,” said Bob Gilmore, a donor to the Foundation’s Scholarship Fund. “Today the cost of education is substantially more and we were in a position to help other students, so we did.”
“We are grateful to donors who have chosen to give to the Scholarship Fund and assist students with their higher education,” said Mark Tuttle, Foundation President. “The scholarships are an important program of our Foundation.”
The Farm Bureau Foundation Board of Directors chose to expand the Ag Discipline Scholarship program based on the contributions to the Scholarship Fund. In the past, three ag scholarships were awarded, but this year four were given to junior and senior year college students.
Donors who have given to the Foundation Scholarship Fund helped provide another ag scholarship this year. Some of the donors pictured with two of the ag scholarship recipients are (front row, from left) Ethan Plote, U of I student; Glennie Barshinger; Heidi Smith, UW-Platteville student; (back row) Joyce Pickwell representing the Ralph & Irene Boesche family; Bob Gilmore; Dezeri DeRaedt and Ursula Sarver.
Deserving students majoring in an agricultural related curriculum were selected to receive the Ag Discipline Scholarship. The recipients of the 2018 scholarships are: Dayna Anderson, David Boehne, Ethan Plote and Heidi Smith.
“The scholarship allows students who are working hard to focus on their studies,” said Heidi Smith, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. “As I look to graduate this year, this scholarship reduces some of the financial stress and I won’t have as much college debt. In the future, I plan to give back to organizations that have helped me.”
The Farm Bureau Foundation granted a total of 29 college scholarships in 2018 – 10 to freshmen, 17 to juniors and seniors, and 2 to medical students. Juniors and seniors received the Ag Discipline Scholarship, Arden & Dorothy Baie Scholarship for any field of study, and the Robert Morley Science Scholarship. The Medical Scholarship is given to students in the medical and health care fields of study. See pages 16-17 for a list of scholarship recipients.
Foundation Scholarship Fund
Contributors, 2014-2018
Ken Barshinger Memorial
Ralph & Irene Boesche Memorial
ComEd
DeRaedt Seed
Steve & Christine De Vlieger
Adele deWerff Stevens
Carl Dumoulin
Farm Bureau Foundation
Robert & Ann Gilmore
Charles Orr Memorial
Brad & Jennifer Russell
Elsie Sanford
Robert Sarver Memorial
Robert & Jo Ann Skabo