Ag scholarship support strong during pandemic

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 15, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The deadline is looming to apply for the fourth annual Agricultural Scholarship Awards.
The deadline is Jan. 31 for students interested in earning one of the $10,000 scholarships which are jointly being awarded by the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East and the Lethbridge and District Exhibition.
An awards banquet has been tentatively set for March 3, which coincides with the opening of Ag Expo here.
Wayne Lindwall, chair of the scholarship adjudication committee, said Friday “this is our fourth year and after last year, we weren’t able to have our usual sit-down awards banquet in conjunction with Ag Expo because that was off the table. But we were still able to award two $10,000 scholarships last year thanks to the generosity of the ag community locally and ag business.
“This year we weren’t sure what to expect because again, COVID hasn’t exactly gone away” but because of the success of the scholarship last year and other factors, the amount of sponsorship was surprising, so much that potentially three $10,000 scholarships could be awarded, Lindwall said.
The scholarships are for undergraduate college and university students who are pursuing a career in agriculture in southern Alberta. They have to be from southern Alberta, Lindwall said, because sponsors require that. But they could be attending schools elsewhere such as in Edmonton, Saskatoon or even Montana.
“Most of the winners have been from the college or the U of L and the fact now that the college has a four-year accredited ag program, we’re expecting more applicants in the years to come. We did have one that was going to U of A this year. The winner from last year and one of our applicants is again this year from the U of A but they’re all from southern Alberta which makes us very proud – we’re getting excellent candidates for this.
“Every year we wish we could award more scholarships because the candidates are just that good. So that’s really encouraging when you see the interest,” added Lindwall.
Applications are available online at the websites of both the Rotary Club East and Exhibition Park, Lindwall said.
Exhibition Park has been a partner from the start, Lindwall said. The club actually has met at the Exhibition for the last couple years, he added.
“We’ve had a great relationship with Exhibition Park and again with their new construction, they’re excited about expanding this in the future with Ag Expo,” Lindwall added.

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