Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School (PSO) graduates mingled this past week with scholar presenters at the annual Scholarship Tea.
This year saw about 180 people in attendance with $70,500 worth of scholarships being awarded, according to PSO principal Geoff Butcher.
“It’s a little bit up from the last year so that’s great.”
The evening included many scholarships that had been running for years, some new ones and some, like the Brent Henry Memorial, it was the last. The Brent Henry Memorial had been handed out for 37 years to someone involved in officiating, coaching, fundraising etc. in minor hockey or figure skating after a tragic accident claimed the life of rep team all star goalie Brent Henry, a PSO student.
“It’s amazing. 37 years is a long time,” says Kevin Henry, Brent’s brother.
“We just thought if this was gonna be the last one, we would like to be here on behalf of the family,” says Marilyn Henry.
People just made donations 37 years ago and it was very well invested from there, she says, adding that they were there for the first 10 years, as well as the 25-year mark.
She gives a great big thank you to the people who’ve kept it going.
Alan Boyd has presented the scholarship on behalf of the Henry family for about the last 27 years.
“My son played hockey with Brent,” he says. “He was a boisterous young man as most young men are. He kept the dressing room very lively. He had a good sense of humour. It was just a shock when he passed.”
He got to know a lot of young people presenting the award and it’s been rewarding, he says.
The graduates this year are a really diverse group with some really fantastic people skill-wise, according to Butcher.
“A lot of hardworking people with different interests from trades right trough academics, it’s very diverse. They’ve been involved in the school in lots of different ways, in real positive ways,” he says adding that academically there are students with some really high grades (98 and 97 per cent).
It’s probably the most diverse group seen in a long time even though it’s a little bit smaller, says Butcher.
“Other communities simply read out the names and never actually have an opportunity for the donors and the recipients to meet and to find out this is what’s going on and this is what I’m going to do. Or for the recipient to find some background what the scholarship is and what it came from.”
“This was a nice way to remember people, to acknowledge the donors, to get some information and for the recipients to meet them as well as keep the length of the ceremonies down. So, there’s lots of good things about it.”
Butcher says they’ll continue to do it as long as they’ve got scholarships to give out and people are willing to come to the tea.
They never hear anything negative about it, he adds.
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Scholarship winners:
Sereena Alex - 100 Mile General District Hospital Auxiliary Bursary, Hospital Employees Union Bursary; Anna Anderson - Canadian Mental Health Scholarship, Lac La Hache Community Club Bursary, Wyse Family Bursary; Bryton Armishaw - 100 Mile Festival of the Arts Scholarship, Cariboo Chilcotin Administrators Association Scholarship, District Authority Award; Nathanael Bedford - Lac La Hache Community Club Bursary, Kyle Welton Memorial Bursary; Hayley Bishop - Williams Lake and District Credit Union Bursary, Lorraine LeBourdias Memorial Scholarship; Allison Carr - Hendrix Lake Gym Fund Bursary, Jennelle Hall Memorial Bursary, Pat Menduk Memorial Bursary; Courtney Cave - 100 Mile Free Press/Black Press Bursary, 100 Mile House & District Soccer Association Scholarship, Jean Reynolds Memorial Bursary, Sophie Zelt Memorial Bursary, District Authority Award, Callie Robinson Memorial Bursary; Mikaela David - Brock and Terry-Lynn Melynk Family Bursary, District Authority Award, PSO Woodlot Bursary; Kennedy Edlund - Hwy 24 Interlakes Lions Club Bursary, Williams Lake & District Credit Union Bursary; Adrienne Gardner - 100 Mile House & District Arts Council for Literary Arts, 100 Mile Festival of the Arts Scholarship, District Authority Award, Cariboo Chilcotin Teachers Association Scholarship; Ocea Gunn - Fire Chief Bob Paterson Memorial Bursary, Jon Sortome Memorial Bursary, Steven Andrew Meville Memorial Scholarship; Jaime Harper - Cariboo Strong Bursary, 100 Mile Physicians in memory of Dr. Eric Bock Scholarship, 108 Mile Ranch Lions Club Bursary, United Steelworks Local 1-2017 Bursary; Heather Heales - 100 Mile Garden Club - Natural World Bursary, Cariboo Chilcotin Administrators Association Scholarship, Cariboo Chilcotin Teachers Association Scholarship, Martin Cecil Memorial Scholarship; Brayden Herperger - 100 Mile Performing Arts Society Bursary, Greg Herzog Memorial Bursary; Ashley Holyk - Brent Henry Memorial Bursary, Cariboo Regional District Scholarship, District Authority Award, Rachel McComb-Canadian Parents for French Scholarship, IUOE Local 959 Bursary, Shirley Case Memorial Bursary; Ashton Jones - Deka Lake & District Fire Dept. Ladies Auxillary Bursary; Lydia Kinasewich - Cariboo Chilcotin Teachers Association Scholarship, District Authority, Dry Grad 2015 Legacy Fund; Thomas Lavigne - 100 Mile Cruzers Mechanic Bursary; Kelly Lawrence - Kyle Welton Memorial Bursary, 100 Mile House & District Arts Council for Visual Arts in memory of Donna Loveridge Bursary, Right Photography Bursary, Forest Grove Legion #261 in memory of Doug Smith Bursary; Anya Levermann - District Authority, PSO Eagles Nest- Amnesty International, IKON Bursary, Royal Lepage Academic Excellence Award, South Cariboo Farmers Market Bursary; Lauren McLean - District Authority, 100 Mile Lions Club Scholarship, Royal Lepage - Anti-bullying and Leadership Bursary, Steven Andrew Meville Memorial Scholarship; Trevor McMahon - Mudhar Family Bursary; Logan Parent - Wesley Keefe Memorial Scholarship; Emma Pettitt - District Authority Award, 100 Mile House & District Arts Council for Performing Arts; Jasper Pettman - Grant Herzog Memorial Bursary, Parkside Gallery Bursary, District Authority Award, Lorraine LeBourdias Memorial Scholarship; Robyn Sinclair - 100 Mile House Lions Club Scholarship, District Authority Award, Ingrid Harrison Memorial Bursary; Nela Slosarkova - Jamie Dengel Memorial Bursary, Remax 100 Bursary; Riana Smith - West Fraser Mills Limited Bursary, United Steelworkers Local 1-2017 Bursary; Ryan Sullivan - 100 Mile Lions Club Scholarship, BC Government Retired Employees Branch #1700 Bursary, Mt.Begbie Masonic Lodge Bursary; Michael Van Osch - Forest Grove Legion in memory of Florence Redpath and Rita Larson Bursary; Kurt Wandler - 100 Mile Feed and Ranch Bursary; Tyler Yelich - PSO Woodlot Bursary, West Fraser Mills Limited Bursary; Taiya Young - Jamie Dengel Memorial Bursary, Knights of Columbus Bursary, 100 Mile House Physicians in memory of Dr. John McGregor, Western Communities Foundation-Exceptional Achievement Citation and Bursary Award, 108 Mile Ranch Lions Club Bursary.
