SOS Foundation Awards First Scholarship Grants
It was a special night to remember and rejoice when SOS Foundation President Yancey Ford presented our charity’s first scholarship grants to three very deserving and appreciative young students during the annual SOS Dinner at the Innisbrook Golf Resort.
The SOS Foundation was created earlier this year as a certified 501-(c)(3) charity charged with the sole purpose of providing college scholarship assistance to the academically-qualified children of staff personnel working at clubs that host SOS competitions. To date, the SOS members have contributed $35,000 to the Foundation.
Two of the 2017 recipients of the $2,500 scholarships are long-time good friends McKenna Chefero and Hannah Murphy, both of whom are now sophomores at the University of South Florida. The third recipient is Madison Duncan-Diejuste, who attends Palm Beach State College.
Ms. Chefero’s father, Paul, works in Banquet Management at the Innisbrook Resort. Ms. Murphy’s mother, Nancy, is a senior sales manager at Innisbrook. Ms. Duncan-Diejuste’s mother, Kristina, shares duties in the Quail Ridge CC golf shop and locker room.
Yancey Ford proudly introduced the three scholarship recipients to the broad and highly-enthusiastic SOS Membership in attendance at the Dinner, and all three young ladies eloquently thanked Yancey and the SOS Foundation for its commitment to education.
McKenna Chefero is majoring in Entrepreneurship at South Florida; she is focusing on business management with a minor in Leadership Studies. “Someday I hope to own my own non-profit,” she says. In high school, McKenna played on the varsity golf team as a senior and she dabbles in golf with a Club Team at South Florida. “I really appreciate what the Society of Seniors Foundation has done for me,” she says. “This scholarship means a whole lot to me and to my family.”
Hannah Murphy is majoring in Criminology and aspires to attend Law School and become a Defense Attorney. “When I was in high school I used to babysit for Jessica Lowe, National Golf Sales Manager,” Hannah says. “She told my mother all about the SOS Foundation Scholarship. We filled out all the paperwork and I did the interview with the Society of Seniors Scholarship Committee on Skype. It was a great day when I received the call telling me that I’d be getting the $2,500 scholarship.”
Madison Duncan-Diejuste attends Palm Beach State College and aspires to earn a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. “My mother is a single parent of four children,” she says, “and I am the third to attend college. The SOS Foundation Scholarship is a big help for me and for my family. I cannot thank the SOS enough for its gracious generosity.”
The SOS Foundation thanks those SOS members who have already donated to the Foundation. In announcing the formation and the purpose of the Foundation, the charity’s Board suggested that SOS members donate an annual minimum of $100 to the Foundation over a three-year period so that the Foundation could become self-sustaining by the year 2020.
At this time a number of SOS members have made long-term commitments to the Foundation through annual giving, transfers of stock and plans to include the Foundation in their wills. Indeed, some TK SOS members made an initial gift to the Foundation of $1000 or more.
Before the New Year, the SOS Foundation will once again reach out to the SOS membership with information as to how members can make a gift to the Foundation. Thanks in no small part to the very gracious and touching remarks from McKenna, Hannah and Madison at the Annual Dinner, the Foundation knows it is on the right track.
Society of Seniors
1570 West First Ave.
Columbus, OH 43212
614-487-1207
