Marla Martin, Communications Manager, or Jeff Zipper, Vice President of Communications
407/438-1400, ext. 2326 or 2314
Florida Association of Realtors® Announces District Scholarship Winners
ORLANDO, FL, May 2006 — The Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR) has awarded 40 college scholarships to Florida senior high school students as part of its 2005-2006 Scholarship/Essay Contest for High School Seniors. Fourteen seniors from public and private high schools in each of the state’s 13 districts have received first-place $5,000 scholarships, 13 students taking second-place honors received $1,500 scholarship awards; and 13 third-place essayists have won $500 each.
The scholarship program is designed to help Florida’s most talented high school students achieve their goals in college, and all seniors are eligible except for immediate family members of a Realtor®, of a person licensed to sell real estate or of a Realtor® association's staff. The top winning essays from FAR’s 13 districts across Florida now compete to win one of three $5,000 state-level FAR scholarships. Scholarships from FAR this year total $111,000.
First place winners of FAR’s $5,000 scholarship
District 1 Britni Moore of Yulee, Fernandina
Beach High School
District 2 Kimberly N. Ammerman of Titusville,
Astronaut High School
District 3 Janice A. Alvira of Lakeworth, South
Tech High School
District 4 Alexandra B. Aldrich of Marathon,
Marathon High School
District 5 Lia DeFeo of Marco Island, Lely High
School
District 6 Alison P. Thompson of Pinellas Park,
Keswick Christian School
District 7 Carly Burt of Mount Dora, Christian
Home and Bible School
District 8 Blaine A. Cherry of Tallahassee,
North Florida Christian School
District 9 Hannah Bunning of Navarre, Gulf
Breeze High School;
Ashlee Elizabeth White of Milton,
Pace High School
District 10 Pamela Newton of Winter Haven,
Winter Haven High School
District 11 Jodi-Kaye Wade of Lauderdale Lakes,
Blanche Ely High School
District 12 Jared Michael Carter of Orlando,
Orlando Christian Prep School
District 13 Joshua Rosenauer of Bradenton,
Lakewood Ranch High School
Second place winners of FAR’s $1,500 scholarship
District 1 Dana Teppert of Ponte Vedra Beach,
Allen D. Neuse High School
District 2 Alicia Sparks of Port Orange, Spruce
Creek High School
District 3 Cole Sullivan of Vero Beach, Vero
Beach High School
District 4 Joshua Reid Malina of Golden Beach,
Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High
District 5 Danielle Daitch of Fort Myers,
Canterbury School
District 6 Austin W. Goodman of Brandon,
Riverview High School
District 7 Brittany Hutman of Floral City,
Citrus High School
District 8 Andreas Jackson of Tallahassee,
Rickards High School
District 9 Dequina Nicholas of Pensacola,
Pensacola Christian Academy
District 10 Rachel Marie Barber of Lake Placid,
Lake Placid High School
District 11 Ryan Taub of Plantation,
Nova High School
District 12 William "Tyler" Pugh of Kissimmee,
Gateway High School
District 13 Kendal P. Mundy of Punta Gorda,
Charlotte High School
Third place winners of FAR’s $500 scholarship
District 1 Brian Readout of Lake City, Columbia
High School
District 2 Kelley Novak of Ormond Beach,
Seabreeze High School
District 3 Kati McWaters of Okeechobee,
Okeechobee High School
District 4 Christina Bonnewell of Miami,
American Senior High School
District 5 Kristen L. Spencer of Cape Coral,
Mariner High School
District 6 Jayme Courtman of Lutz, Land O'
Lakes High School
District 7 Kristen Vogt of Silver Springs,
Vanguard High School
District 8 Amy Michelle Russ of Chipley,
Chipley High School
District 9 Philip McKee of Niceville, Niceville
High School
District 10 Dayna Ruth Sechrest of Lakeland,
Lakeland High School
District 11 Meaghan Gonsalves of Fort Lauderdale,
Archbishop McCarthy High School
District 12 Whitney Lea Topmiller of Orlando,
Timber Creek High School
District 13 Matthew Golding of Bradenton,
Manatee Community High School
"The Florida Association of Realtors® originally created its scholarship/essay contest because Realtors® understand the value of education," says FAR President Mike Dooley. “It’s not only good for our young people, but a good educational system builds strong communities and draws high-paying jobs to Florida. Show me a top-notch school and I'll show you a thriving community with rising home values."
A number of community leaders, media representatives, educators, business executives and Realtors® from across the state volunteered their time and expertise to serve as judges for the district-level essay competition. The 13 first-place district-winning essays — written on the topic, “How Does a Realtor® Professional Benefit the Community?” — will be reviewed by a state panel of judges, who will select the top three state winners. State scholarship winners may be announced either prior to, or as part of, FAR's 2006 Convention & Trade Expo held Sept. 13-17, at the Westin Diplomat Resort in Hollywood, Florida.
The Florida Association of Realtors®, the voice for real estate in Florida, provides programs, services, ongoing education, research and legislative representation to its more than 155,000 members in 68 local boards/associations throughout the state.
© 2006 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
