by Geoff Fox
A new scholarship opportunity has opened up for students in Hancock and Southern Fulton, and for area residents who want to head back to school to get a certificate or better their job.
The Mason Dixon Scholarship came about after Wayne Keefer, president of the scholarship fund, became aware of a similar fund in Morgan County while working at CNB.
Keefer said a few of his fellow employees at the bank were on the board of the Morgan Student Aid program in Morgan County.
“I thought it sounded like a really neat program for the community,” he said.
That student aid fund involves individuals and businesses who come together to provide scholarship help for county students.
Keefer said he also noticed that other communities in Washington County had organized scholarship funds.
In working and communicating with Shannon McKinley and others, the new Hancock-area scholarship fund organization was created.
“We wanted to make it our own,” Keefer said.
Keefer said it was put together because the Hancock and Southern Fulton communities work so closely together as a larger community, even though they are in different states.
The decision to help students getting ready to graduate high school wasn’t the only thing set as a focus for the scholarship fund.
There is also a need in the community for adults to learn new skills, advance their current career, or retrain themselves into a different career as the economy changes.
“So we also wanted to open up our scholarship program to adult learners as well,” he said.
College education is important for many fields, but not every profession, so Keefer said the scholarship would also be for trade schools.
That could be beauty school, construction trades, or even licensing for various professions — basically anything that needs training and special certification could qualify under the new scholarship fund.
“We want to offer scholarships in the here and now, today, and we hope to have scholarships we can award at the end of this school year, for example,” Keefer said.
The organization wants to have a scholarship fund that can provide educational funds in perpetuity.
According to the bylaws of the Mason Dixon Scholarship Fund, any donations received, unless earmarked for a specific scholarship, of the general donations received, 80% will go into an endowment where the principal won’t be touched. Any interest or dividends that accrue will be paid out in scholarships.
“This allows this program to have a lasting impact in the community,” Keefer said.
It may be unique for the Mason Dixon Scholarship Fund, but the organization wants the endowment to exist and grow as volunteers come and go or fundraisers subsides a little bit. The hope is to have an endowment that continue the legacy to train the local community.
Keefer said in his time in public service, he realized the government won’t always be able to help every time.
The best way to help a community, he said, is to find meaningful employment, which does something for an individual that boosts their confidence.
That approach also has a hand in growing a community and making sure it’s resilient.
“We have and grow residents that can contribute to the local economy, that can contribute to the needs of the local community,” he said.
That could be healthcare, teaching, or even a trades program.
When it comes to finding a plumber or electrician, those are becoming scarcer.
By growing those professions, it could help the community.
“We hope that the scholarship program will do that and we hope that the scholarship program can be a source of meeting that first burden, which is sometimes getting the cost to learn that skill,” Keefer said.
There will be an application process once this year’s funding is totaled to know how much funds can be awarded and how selective they can be with those funds, Keefer said.
The bylaws of the organization require them to have a representative from both Hancock and Southern Fulton High School, whether that’s the principal or a designated representative.
Amanda Norris is the representative for Hancock High School and, even though she hasn’t officially become a member, Southern Fulton School District Superintendent Meredith Hendershot is the representative for Southern Fulton High School.
Keefer said there are also representatives from the community as well.
Keefer added they are looking for another representative for the Southern Fulton area.
All scholarships will be awarded through the board.
Once the funding is known for this year, Keefer said there will be a paper application available for applicants.
Applications, once available, will be available for students.
He said if someone wants to create a scholarship in honor or memory of a loved one, that can be created and flowed through the Mason Dixon Scholarship Foundation.
There has been contact from several people about setting up the endowments, Keefer said.
Keefer said the foundation hopes to have fundraisers in the coming months such as spaghetti dinners, auctions and raffles, a purse raffle around Mothers’ Day, and other ideas.
Coming up next month, the Mason Dixon Scholarship fund will be holding a spaghetti dinner fundraiser.
The dinner will be on Sunday, February 22, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hancock American Legion. The dinner includes spaghetti, salad, and a dessert. Walk-ins are welcome and presales are preferred. Take out will also be available. There will be raffles, bake sale, and music from Take Two.
Donations to the foundation can be made by check to Mason Dixon Scholarship Foundation and dropped off at CNB Bank in Hancock or mailed to Mason Dixon Scholarship Fund ℅ CNB Bank INC, 333 E. Main Street, Hancock, MD, 21750.
