Discover Smith Mountain Lake
WINTER 2015/16
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PROGRAM HISTORY
Lion Carroll Downing (deceased),
a Melvin Jones Fellow, led
the initial campaign to collect
funds for the Trust. He and the
other original Board members
established
an
investment
philosophy system that the Trust
continues to follow.
In 1992, the first Board had
acquired enough funds to make its first
award of a $4,000.00 scholarship. That
scholarship helped one FCHS senior
attend and graduate from Ferrum
College. The situation has changed.
At present, aside from scholarship
payments, the operating expenses
including the fees the Trust pays its
professional Investment Manager are
less than ½ of 1%. Since its inception,
the Trust has paid or committed to
pay scholarships of $426,500.00 for 76
Franklin County High School (FCHS)
seniors.
The original Trust Board also
recognized the need for broad skills
among its members. Today, most
members of the Smith Mountain Lake
Lions Scholarship Trust are Lions Club
members, but the Trust Board also
includes a few other members of the
community who bring particular skills
to the Board. Established in 1990 and
awarding annual scholarships since
THE
SHARE
LIONS
SML Lions Scholarship Trust Follows B. T. Washington’s Advice
Ray Holt and Jody D. Brown
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” Booker T. Washington’s advice inspires the service projects
of the SML Lions Club. One of those projects, enabling young people to attend a Virginia college or university,
continues to help Franklin County youth as well as the community. The scholarship program was one of the
first projects after the SML Lions Club formed and has grown so much that it has its own 501(c)3 tax-exempt
organization.
1992, Board members are all unpaid
volunteers who contribute their time.
SCHOLARSHIPS NOW
Over the past two years, the SML
Lions Scholarship Trust has awarded
six scholarships, each worth $6,000.00
over the course of the recipients’
undergraduate experience. Therefore,
most students receive $1,500.00 per
year while attending any of Virginia’s
accredited colleges or universities. The
Trust anticipates that each of the 19
students who are now receiving annual
payments will complete their degrees
in four years; however, the Trust can
adjust payments for students whose
undergraduate programs require five
years, as well as those who complete
their studies in three.
Because the scholarships continue to
come from the interest and dividends
that donations earn, every typical gift
is a perpetual endowment to the youth
at FCHS. The only funds that the Trust
uses immediately for scholarships are
those funds that generous donors give
to support specific scholarships in the
year in which the donor makes the gift.
The Scholarship Trust awards each of
the scholarships based on academic
records,
leadership
experiences,
community service, financial need,
recommendations, and an interview
without regard to race, gender, sexual
orientation, or religious preference.
The Lions Trust scholarships are among
the highest private dollar awards at
Franklin County High School.
The initial Board also realized that
the need for scholarships in Franklin
County would be perpetual, but that the
interest in securing those scholarship
funds might well fluctuate. To build the
investment resources, the Board solicits
money from current and former Lions
Club members, from other individuals
in the community, and from various
fund raising efforts of the Trust Board
and the SML Lions Club.
GETTING INVOLVED
Recently, the Trust Board mailed its
annual campaign letters. This letter
drive reminds people of the continuing
need for investment funds, so that the
Trust can build up the current number
of scholarships or the value of each
scholarship.
In addition, the Board recently
committed to additional forms of
fund raising and is grateful to a few
private donors who fully fund specific
scholarships in memory of friends,
family, or community leaders. Unless
directed to be used immediately by the
donor, all of these funds become part of
the total investment assets.
Of course, the SML Lions Club is amajor
supporter of the scholarship program.
Through its two major fund raisers, the
junior golf tournament in July and its
reverse raffle in the spring, the SML
Lions Club donates one full scholarship
each year. The Club also recognizes
Silver, Golden, Platinum, and Diamond
donors at its annual dinner to introduce
the year’s scholarship recipients.
Annually, the Scholarship Trust moves
a portion of the interest and earnings
on these normally tax deductible
funds to a more conservative
account that allows the Board to
award current scholarships with
full confidence that the funds
will be available to students as
they complete their degrees.
NEW SCHOLARSHIPS IN
2016
The SML Lions Scholarship Trust
recognizes that the path to an
undergraduate degree in 2015-16 often
begins at a community college. As the
Board discussed ways in which it should
increase its service to others, members
recognized this reality. After examining
2015 SML Lions Club
Scholarship Recipients
Timothy Miles,
Freshman, VT
Karen Davis
Katellyn Furrow, EllenDuvall, Timothy
Miles, Cilicia Ferguson, Casey Burton,
Sydney Brown at the recognition dinner
May 2015
I’menjoying VT quite a bit, and really
like all of my classes. I’mtaking Religion
and theModernWorld, Investigations
inReligion and Culture, Math in a
Computational Context, General Biology,
and a First Year Honors Seminar. Hope
all is well with you!
The SML Lions Club scholarshipmeans
a lot tome. It is incredibly comforting to
know that there is someone inmy corner
while I navigate the roughwaters of
college. As a freshman, I amexperiencing
aworld of change, and constantly
adjusting to the ebb and flowof college
courses.This scholarship alleviates such
a financial burden forme, and allowsme
to take college head on, without having
toworry somuch about the financial side
of things.
KarenDavis presenting funds toMark
Young to establish theWilliamG. Davis
Scholarship that will support one student
every four years perpetually.
