Monroe County Farm Bureau has awarded three $750 scholarships to local students pursuing careers in agriculture. Recipients of the awards can use the funds to attend college, trade school, or apprenticeship programs that support the agricultural industry.
The Betty Bliss Scholarship has been awarded to Sydney Masserant of Newport. This scholarship has been presented annually since 1988 and is named after long-time County Office Administrator Betty Bliss. Sydney is the daughter of Rob and Lisa Masserant. She graduated from Jefferson High School in 2022 and is currently attending Michigan State University. Sydney is studying Crop and Soil Sciences with a minor in Agriculture Business Management to one day work in Agronomy Sales. While at MSU, Sydney has been very active in many clubs and is the Vice President of MSU Collegiate Farm Bureau.
The Dale Lynn Mason Scholarship, which honors long-time secretary Dale Lynn Mason who served the bureau for over 28 years, was awarded to Katelyn Lindemann of Milan. Katelyn is the daughter of Blaine and Denise Lindemann and a graduate of Milan High School. There she served as the Secretary, Vice President, and President of the Milan FFA Chapter. Being a part of FFA drove her to further study Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Education at Michigan State University to be an Agriscience Teacher.
The oldest scholarship awarded by the bureau, the Young Farmer Memorial Scholarship, was renamed eleven years ago as a tribute to the Young Farmers of our group whose lives were cut short before reaching their full potential. This year’s recipient of the scholarship is Zoe Stanger of Dundee. Zoe is graduating from Summerfield High School and is the daughter of Joe and Abby Stanger. She has been very active in 4-H and also plays the piano on Sunday mornings at her church. Zoe plans to attend the University of Findlay where she will be studying Animal Science. She hopes to bring her knowledge of Animal Science and cattle genetics back to the family farm and the surrounding area.
Winners are eligible to compete in all years of school against new applicants, provided they continue their studies in an agriculture-related field. Since 1988, Monroe County Farm Bureau has invested over $52,000 in the future agricultural leaders of our community! We wish everyone who competed for these awards the best of luck as they continue their studies. They are truly the future of agriculture in Monroe County!