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Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation recently awarded $57,000 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.

Cindy Hollingshead Scholarship

Recipients are Olivia Blay of Portage County; Jayla Brown of Ross County; Cora Dorman of Licking County; Reagan Draeger of Sandusky County; Melanie Furman of Scioto County; Sarah Lehner of Delaware County; Meredith Oglesby of Highland County; Kendall Sestilli of Delaware County and McKenna Woodruff of Huron 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 Brianna Carmack of Richland County; Cora Dorman of Licking County; Caleb Durheim of Delaware County; Madisen Jolliff of Hardin County; Mekenzie Jolliff of Hardin County; Sarah Lehner of Delaware County; Meredith Oglesby of Highland 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.

Dr. David A. Benfield Scholarship Fund

Receiving this award are Olivia Hoffman of Wayne County; Wyatt Kissell of Knox County; John Luckey of Sandusky County; Paige Marshall of Seneca County and Benjamin Sheaffer of Wyandot County. This fund was established in 2019 by colleagues and friends of Dr. Benfield to honor his 17-year career as associate director of OARDC and associate vice president and director of the Wooster Campus in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and his passion for agricultural education and research. The scholarship is specifically for students in livestock and crop sciences at ATI.

Jack Fisher Scholarship

Recipients are Olivia Blay of Portage County; Cora Dorman of Licking County; Caleb Durheim of Delaware County; Keri Felumlee of Licking County; Jacob Hawkes of Madison County; Sarah Lehner of Delaware County; Meredith Oglesby of Highland County; Todd Peterson of Fayette County and Tyler Zimpher of Shelby County. This fund is named after John C. “Jack” Fisher, who served as 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.

Joseph Kelly Memorial Scholarship

Receiving this scholarship is Taylor Kenska of Lorain County. This scholarship was established in 2018 to honor the life of Joseph Kelly and to continue his legacy of generosity and service. The Joseph Kelly Memorial Scholarship is an annual, merit-based competition that focuses on rewarding students pursuing degrees related to agriculture.

Kenny Walter Scholarship Fund

Cora Dorman of Licking County and Samantha Plocher of Columbiana County received this award. The fund provides scholarships to students pursuing post-secondary education in agriculture who come from the 29 northeastern counties Walter served as an Ohio Farm Bureau regional supervisor and organization director.

Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation Scholar Award

Receiving this award are Cora Dorman of Licking County; Mekenzie Jolliff of Hardin County; Meredith Oglesby of Highland County; Todd Peterson or Fayette County and Samantha Plocher of Columbiana 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.

The Ohio Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association Scholarship

Olivia Blay of Portage County and Jacob Hawkes of Madison County received this award from the Ohio Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, a nonprofit trade association representing 2,500 thoroughbred owners and trainers who race at Ohio’s three commercial thoroughbred race tracks. The objective of the scholarship fund is to assist students who plan to pursue careers focusing on food or agriculture.

Richard & Carole Cocks Scholarship

Recipients are Reagan Draeger of Sandusky County; Lane Hollingsworth of Logan County; Blake Scholl of Darke County and McKenna Woodruff of Huron County. This scholarship is intended to recognize those students who come from those areas that provide so much through farming. Four scholarships are awarded annually to deserving students from select rural Ohio counties. Each scholarship award is renewable for up to four years.

Women’s Leadership in Agriculture Scholarship

Receiving the scholarship are Emily Bardwell of Medina County; Cora Dorman of Licking County; Melanie Fuhrmann of Scioto County; Sarah Lehner of Delaware County; Meredith Oglesby of Highland County and Clare Sollars of Fayette 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.

To learn more about the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation, its work and its programs, visit ofbfoundation.org.

This is a news release for use by journalists. Questions should be directed to Ty Higgins, 614-246-8231 or [email protected].