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Local Conservation Scholarship Seeks Applicantsby Ellen Tompkins For some of you who did not know my dad, Ralph Waning, allow me to introduce him to you. Dad was a farm boy through and through. He was born in Troy, Maine in 1910, but grew up in Unity on the family farm and woodlot. My father took a job in Belfast at the office of the Waldo County Soil Conservation Service. Shortly thereafter, he transferred to the SCS office located in the Old Post Office Building on Water Street in Augusta. The family farm in Unity was sold, but Dad retained the ownership of the woodlot. It is still in our family today. Dad worked for the SCS until his retirement in 1971, at which time he continued his affiliation with the office by becoming a supervisor for the conservation district. For the next twenty years, he served in either that capacity or that of associate supervisor until his sudden death in 1991. At the time of his passing, Mom's desire was to establish a scholarship in Dad's memory that would encourage college students who were pursuing a major in agriculture or forestry. Albert Faust, one of Dad's friends and co-workers in the Augusta office and also on the board of supervisors, passed away within a year of my father's death. It was the wishes of Al's family to have memorial donations sent to the scholarship. It then became the Ralph Waning and Albert Faust Forestry and Agriculture Scholarship Fund. Since 1991 we have awarded seven scholarships to college students from Waldo and Kennebec Counties, the latest for $1,000. We are looking for qualified applicants. To be eligible, one must be a college student majoring in forestry, agriculture or natural resources who has completed at least one year of post high school, maintaining a "C" or better GPA. Applicants must have resided in Kennebec or Waldo County for a minimum of two years. Currently, the scholarship is administered through the Maine Community Foundation in conjunction with an advisory committee made up of colleagues and family members of both Al and Dad. Application requirements include a college transcript, letter of recommendation, personal statement, and copy of financial award letter, along with an application form, which is available from the Maine Community Foundation, 245 Main Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605. | ||