Last year, the Committee for Excellence raised $25,000 to give 39 students an opportunity to attend college at the expanded Sequoyah County campus in Sallisaw. This year, the campaign exceeded that goal, and committee members expressed their thanks to the community for the tremendous response.
"People have been extremely generous in supporting this program, because I think they realize the importance of a good college education for the young people in Sequoyah County," Spencer said. "Because of their generosity, 44 Sequoyah County high school graduates, some of whom might not otherwise have been able to afford to obtain a college education, now have an opportunity to go to college."
The 44 $660 scholarships, which provide $330 in tuition per semester during the fall and spring semesters at CASC, will be awarded to students from every high school in Sequoyah County, with distribution based on the number of graduates.
"These scholarship recipients have the Committee of Excellence to thank for this scholarship program," Garry Ivey, CASC Development Foundation chief executive officer, said. The foundation administers the scholarships.
"Buddy Spencer and the committee members are to be applauded for their commitment to the young people of Sequoyah County. Without their hard work and efforts on behalf of these young people, this scholarship program would not exist. The CASC Development Foundation, and the 44 students who will benefit from this program owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude."
Ivey said that in March, CASC and the Committee for Excellence will host a dinner at the Sallisaw campus for contributors, so they can meet the students they have sponsored.
Committee for Excellence members are Jim Hudgens, Roger Sharp, Delores Mitchell, Jerry Hetherington, Gary Schaefer, Don Elwick, Harry Scoufos and Jerry Smith. Spencer said the committee is already working on gaining scholarships for next year's CASC Sallisaw students.
