Fifty-two students anxiously waited on stage at the Waxlax Center for the Performing Arts at Saint Edward’s School last Thursday evening as scholarship recipients in the Scholarship Foundation of Indian River County’s 51st annual Awards Ceremony. The foundation celebrated the student accomplishments of the Class of 2016 through the presentation of 99 scholarships this year.
After welcoming the students and introducing the board and scholarship sponsors, SFIRC President Joan Cook announced that they would be presenting an astounding $695,000 in scholarships, raised through community events, endowment funds and generous donors.
“All of the students will receive scholarships tonight, with our top awards given at the end of the evening – the Richardson and Jaffe scholarships,” said Camilla Wainright, SFIRC executive director. “These are students who went through our whole application process and have to meet a higher level of SATs and GPAs and go before the panel, so it is a lot more rigorous process.”
“This [Scholarship Foundation] was established in 1965 by Dan Richardson and the members of the Rotary Club as Dollars for Scholars until 2013, when we went off on our own,” said Scholarship Chair Gaye Ludwig. “We were one of the biggest chapters in the country.”
“Since 1965, the Scholarship Foundation has awarded $10.4 million to 2,812 students in Indian River County,” said Wainright. “Thanks to the generosity of all the residents in our community this is possible. All of our donors and sponsorship sponsors feel that higher education is critically important and ultimately strengthens our community, as many of the students come back to work and raise their families here and are giving back today themselves.”
Ben Earman, a 2006 Orchid Outreach Scholar, was asked to give the alumnus address this year. Earman is currently the community affairs director at the Senior Resource Association of Indian River County and is also well known through his work as an actor and director with the Vero Beach Theatre Guild.
After each student was handed their awards, they walked off backstage for congratulations from proud family members and a chance to shake hands with the individuals who made their scholarships possible.
A memorial scholarship in the name of local sports celebrity and Vero Beach High School graduate Tyrone McGriff Sr. was presented to Christina Norman by McGriff’s friend Terry King and his sisters, Claudine Reaves and Harriet Evans. McGriff died in 2000 of a heart attack at just 41 years old following a football career with Florida A&M and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was active locally with the Gifford Youth Achievement Center.
“He would have loved this,” said Evans. “This memorial scholarship keeps his memory alive.”
“He loved coaching children,” added King. “He really believed in education and even though he died, both his children graduated college.”
“We were so proud of him going to the NFL and especially for getting his education,” agreed Reaves.
Norman and her mother Phillippa were both excited to be granted the scholarship, which will enable her to attend the University of Central Florida.
