Success & Service: Turlock chamber rewards ag students

The Turlock Chamber of Commerce’s Ag Committee will hand out $20,500 in scholarships Monday to 16 high school students from the Turlock area.

The recipients are all college-bound seniors who plan to study agriculture. The event begins at 11:45 a.m. at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds in Turlock and is sold out, with about 350 people expected to attend. Dennis Dimick, executive environment editor for National Geographic, will be the keynote speaker.

Recipients will include: Kenneth Carder, Denair High; Jordan Aguiniga, Pitman High; Allyson Sousa, Hilmar High; Gabriella Borges, Mary Frost, Austin Silva and Dominic Vieira, Turlock High; Cheyenne DeJarnett and Kristen Voss, Hughson High; Hannah Friesen, Hayley Randall and Georgina Reyes Solorio, Livingston High; and Denelle Flake, Jamie Herndon, Emily Kosky and Blake Love, Waterford High.

The Chamber’s Ag Committee has presented 241 scholarships totaling $188,300 over the past 14 years, and also has contributed $90,000 to various educational activities including the 4-H Farm Yard Experience at the Stanislaus County Fair.

Central Catholic gets $2,500 donation

Patterson’s Margaret Michelena won $2,500 through Monsanto’s America’s Farmers Grow Communities program and donated her prize to Central Catholic High School’s Future Farmers of America. Michelena and a Monsanto official presented the check Wednesday at the school. The program began in 2010 and includes 1,324 eligible counties in 40 states to highlight the contributions farmers make every day.

Yosemite gets Subaru Outback from National Park Foundation

Yosemite National Park was one of four national parks to receive a 2015 Subaru Outback thanks to a partnership between the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, and Subaru of America Inc. Yosemite National Park added the Subaru to its existing vehicle fleet. This fuel-efficient Subaru will help the park reach its goal to become more sustainable and reduce gasoline consumption during normal park operations.

For more information on the National Park Foundation and how to support and protect America’s national parks, go to www.nationalparks.org.

Love Merced advocate to be recognized

Aubrey Nelson will be honored by Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, as the 21st Assembly District’s woman of the year during a ceremony Monday at the State Capitol in Sacramento.

Nelson has more than 20 years of experience dedicated to community development and advocacy. She has been Love Merced’s lead coordinator since 2006, helping orchestrate more than 200 projects utilizing more than 20 churches, 12 agencies/nonprofits, the University of California, Merced, and local students. This year, Love Merced has designated 25 projects for work, anticipating more than 1,000 volunteers. She also is the assistant director of programs and learning for the Associated Students Inc. of California State University, Stanislaus.

This story was originally published March 7, 2015 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Success & Service: Turlock chamber rewards ag students."