JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The Rotary Club of Jackson Hole awarded $101,500 in scholarships to 34 graduating high school students at a celebration lunch on May 23, held at Journeys School. At the conclusion of the program, Foster Friess, one of the major benefactors of the scholarship fund, gave each student an additional $1,000 to be used for “pizza and ice cream.” Friess stressed the importance of investing in relationships as well as academics. With this extra gift, the amount given away to students totaled $135,500.
“This is a record breaking year in terms of the amount of money we are giving away in scholarships. The members of the scholarship committee were thoroughly impressed with the caliber of the students that we interviewed over three days as part of this process. They really touched us. Our only regret was that we couldn’t award a scholarship to every student we met,” said Jeff Ward, chair of the Rotary scholarship committee.
Club president Len Carlman thanked the many community partners that have helped with fundraising for the scholarship program including Jim Waldrop and The Wort Hotel, Lynn and Foster Friess, and the Todd Oliver family. He also reminded the students that Rotary is an international service organization, with clubs worldwide committed to service and peace building.
“Remember Rotary and look for ways to be involved. There are avenues for you to be involved as a student, as a young professional and beyond. We have heard on more than one occasion from Rotary speakers who have said that they were once a Rotary scholar,” Carlman said.
