STC Foundation celebrates new scholarships, welcomes members at 2017 annual meeting

SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Savannah Technical College Foundation celebrated new scholarships created during the past year, recognized long-serving members, and welcomed new members at its annual meeting on June 8, 2017.

During the 2016-17 academic year, the STC Foundation received more than $70,000 for new scholarships to benefit STC students:

• Flo Thurman Leadership Fund for Paramedic/EMS Technology: Awarded to a Paramedicine Technology/EMS student who is not receiving any financial aid. Essay required: “Why I want to be in this field of employment” and “The impact I intend to make.” Full tuition, fees, required tools/equipment/uniforms and books. (Up to $6,000/year)
• Brenda L. Rucker Champion Scholarship: Awarded to African American student, who has completed more than half of their instructional program. Programs of study: Aviation Technology, Precision Manufacturing and Welding/Joining Technology. GPA 3.2. ($1,667)
• Chef Edna Lewis Scholarship: Funded by the Edna Lewis Foundation, provides full support for one year of study in culinary arts (tuition, fees, uniforms, tools and books as needed) for a student with a love of Southern cookery and a desire to celebrate and preserve its rich history and traditions.  Requires a 2.0 GPA and 1,000-word essay (2 awards/up to $4,500).
• Stephen Michael Kennedy Scholarship: Provides tools and uniforms for a first semester Culinary Arts student. Essay required: “What drives me to be a chef” and “The impact I intend to make.” ($500).
• Michael Max Sacks Memorial Scholarship: Provides award to veteran student studying in one of the paramedicine programs ($1,000)
• Hass Machine Tool Scholarship: Supports students in the Machine Tool Technology program who have completed at least one NIMS Certificate. ($1,000)
• Skylar Huggett Women in Welding Scholarship: Provides award for welding tools/equipment to a female welding student with the highest GPA after completion of one semester of study at Savannah Technical College. Student is selected by the Welding & Joining department head based on academic performance. ($500)

Celia Dunn, Brian Foster and Jim LaHaise were honored for their service of more than a decade each. Both Foster and LaHaise had served the board as chairmen. Bertice Berry,Ph.D., Thomas Bullock, Ed.D., and Cecilia Russo Turner were welcomed as new members.

Sociologist and award-winning lecturer, Berry, is one of the most sought after lecturers in the United States. She combines her skills as a sociologist and researcher with her ability to make her audiences think and laugh at the same time. She is the best-selling author of the inspirational memoir, I’m On My Way, But Your Foot Is On My Head. She has also published four best-selling novels and two humor books.

Bullock is the founder of LEADERS, Inc. a non-profit organization whose mission is to prepare undergraduate students for self-reliance, post-graduate opportunities and leadership through the facilitation of and exposure to social and cultural competencies, professional development and life skills. As a mathematics professor, Bullock has taught at Georgetown University, Towson State University, Trinity University, and the University of the District of Columbia. His higher educational leadership activities include Assistant to the President at Georgetown University, Chair of the Department of Education at the University of the District of Columbia, member of the PARCC National Advisory Committee for College Readiness, and member of the NCAA Division II Management Council.

Turner has managed and participated in philanthropic activities that have raised millions of dollars for nonprofit charities and civic improvements in communities in Savannah and the Low Country for more than two decades. In 2013, the Junior Achievement Small Business Hall of Fame named Cecilia as its Volunteer of the Year, and in 2016 the Susan G. Komen Society of Costal Georgia recognized her as the “Biggest BigWig of All Time” after she led a breast cancer fundraising campaign to record-setting levels. Her civic volunteer efforts include memberships and board positions on the Rotary Club of Savannah, Horizons Savannah and the Kiwanis Club of Skidaway Island. Previously, Cecilia served on the board of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Coastal Empire and Senior Citizens, Inc.

Founded in 1984, the Savannah Technical College Foundation is a private, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that exists to raise and disperse funds to support the College’s efforts to enhance learning, workforce training and economic development in Bryan, Chatham, Effingham and Liberty counties. The Foundation also supports student success through its privately funded scholarships. The Foundation recently raised more than $7.2 million in its “Where Excellence Meets Opportunity.” The campaign focused on five key areas: precision manufacturing, health sciences, culinary arts/heritage tourism, technology and student support.

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#1745 | June 9, 2017
Media Contact: Amy Shaffer, APR
912-443-5512 / ashaffer@savananhtech.edu