he Adams County Community Foundation, in partnership with the Scioto Foundation, has announced the creation of the Earl and Helen Johnson Scholarship Fund, established for the benefit of Adams County students striving to attain post-secondary educations.
The new scholarship fund was set up by the Johnsons' son Bill, a native of Adams County, who said "he wants to give back to the community that was so good to him as he was growing up."
To be eligible for the scholarship, a student must have a high school diploma or its equivalent and be a resident of Adams County, Ohio, or have received a diploma from a high school in Adams County. Applicants must be attending or planning to attend an accredited, non-proprietary college, university or certified vocational training program in a full-time capacity.
Students must demonstrate financial need and have a record of satisfactory academic performance. Participation in extracurricular activities, community services, employment and school attendance will also be considered. When possible, for current graduates of Adams County high schools, scholarships will be allocated equally among those schools. As the fund grows at some point in time, when practical, scholarship renewals will be considered.
Earl and Helen Johnson Scholarship selections will be made annually by the volunteer scholarship committee of the Scioto Foundation acting on behalf of the SF Board of Governors.
Bill Johnson, now a resident of Dallas, Texas, established the scholarship fund in memory of his parents. His father, Earl, died in 1957 and his mother, Helen, died in 1974.
Bill grew up on a farm south of West Union and graduated from West Union High School and Wilmington College before becoming a flight instructor in the United States Air Force in Dallas. He and his wife Anne settled in Dallas where he worked in the insurance industry. According to Bill, he knows the value of giving back and has worked heavily in the philanthropic community in Dallas.
Bill's father Earl was an executive with the Adams County Building and Loan (now Southern Hills Community Bank.) He had three sisters, Betty Piatt, Caryl McFarland , Doris Rudy, who are deceased. He maintains close ties to Adams County through his brother-in-law, Ernie McFarland, and his family.
In creating the new fund, Bill said "his sincere desire...is to help other Adams Countians have some of the benefits he enjoyed by pursuing education beyond high school.
Contributions to the Earl and Helen Johnson Scholarship Fund from family, friends or the general public may be made at any time. Donations may be in the form of gifts of cash, securities or property.
Further information about the Earl and Helen Johnson Scholarship Fund may be obtained by contacting the Adams County Community Foundation at (937) 544-8659 or by contacting Ginnie Moore, Grants and Scholarships Coordinator for the Scioto Foundation which manages the fund for the ACCF at (740) 354-4612.
Scholarship Criteria
- Must have a high school diploma or its equivalent
- Must be a resident of Adams County, Ohio or have received a diploma from a high school in Adams County, Ohio. Maybe be homeschooled in Adams County, Ohio.
- Must be attending or planning to attend an accredited, nonproprietary college, university, or certified vocational training program in a full-time capacity.
- Undergraduates Only
- Must show financial need.
- Must have a record of satisfactory academic performance
- When possible, for current graduates of Adams County, Ohio high schools, scholarships will be allocated equally among those schools.
Preference will be given to students participating in extracurricular activities, community service, employment and have a good school attendance record.