US: UnitedAg awards record $100,250 in scholarships

UnitedAg, a member-owned agricultural trade association representing more than 800 organizations in California and Arizona, has awarded a record $100,250 in scholarships to 86 students from its member-affiliated agricultural families statewide. Provided through UnitedAg’s Agribusiness Education Foundation (AEF), the 2018 awards raise the organization’s historical scholarship total to over $1.4 million since AEF was founded in 2000. To date, 805 agricultural family members have received UnitedAg’s assistance in achieving their educational goals and aspirations. Previous UnitedAg scholarship winners have earned degrees and taken their place in management, government, market development and foreign trade, with many working in agribusiness.

“The Agribusiness Education Foundation is incredibly important in ensuring that the agricultural industry and our society as a whole has a bright future,” said AJ Cisney, Chairman of the UnitedAg Board of Directors. “We are all proud of the fact that we have helped hundreds of excellent and promising students and that we are able to support the higher-education aspirations of our members.”

Based on both merit and need, this year’s scholarship awards range in amount from $500 per individual to $8,000 for this year’s recipient of the Maurice McMillan Scholarship, Patrick Dotsy, whose UnitedAg affiliation is with the Leavens Ranches LLC in Santa Paula. The scholarship funds are for use during the 2018-2019 academic year.

The primary sources of fundraising for the UnitedAg scholarships are the AEF’s Annual Golf Tournament, Walkathon and Silent Auction, as well as individual donations of cash and gifts-in-kind for use in the Silent Auction. To learn more about the scholarship program or to give a gift-in-kind for use in the Silent Auction, visit www.unitedag.org/education-and-youth/give-your-support/ or call (800) 223-4590. To make a cash donation online, visit www.unitedag.org/donate/.