Friends Of Fair Ag Scholarships: Application Deadline Approaching

DIXON, CA — Applications are due March 1 for the $15,000 in college agricultural scholarships established by the Friends of the Dixon May Fair. The Friends, the service-oriented and fundraising arm of the Dixon May Fair, raises funds from the sale of beverages at the four-day fair and donates the proceeds for exhibitor awards, building and grounds improvements, and college scholarships. The all-volunteer organization is headed by president Donnie Huffman of Vacaville.

The newest scholarship is the JoAn Giannoni $2,500 Scholarship Award. Giannoni, a 50-year resident of Dixon, is a founding member of the organization and served as secretary and scholarship chairman from its beginnings in 2000 to 2017. She retired in 2017 as scholarship chair and secretary — serving 17 years simultaneously in each position — but continues to serve. She earlier retired from the University of California, Davis, as a management service officer for the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources.

Over the last 17 years, the Friends of the Dixon May Fair has awarded $175,000 in college scholarships encompassing four-year and two-year college categories. Carrie Hamel, of Dixon, finance officer for UC Davis Public Health Sciences, chairs the scholarship committee.

“We totally support our college students majoring in ag,” said Donnie Huffman of Vacaville, president of the Friends of the Fair, who launched the scholarships. Agricultural fields can include everything from horticulture to entomology to veterinary medicine.

Applicants are scored on personal, civic and academic experience; academic standing; personal commitment and established goals; leadership potential; civic accomplishments; chosen field in the areas of agriculture, Hamel said. Most applicants have experience in 4-H, FFA or Grange—desired not mandated. All applicants must be residents of Solano County and attend college in California.

The top applicant in the four-year category receives the Ester Armstrong Scholarship Award of $3,000, and the second top applicant will now receive the JoAn Giannoni Scholarship Award of $2,500. The top applicant in the two-year community college category is awarded the $1,500 Jack Hopkins Scholarship.

Last year the Friends awarded six scholarships. Jillian Raycraft of Dixon, a student at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, received the top award, the $3000 Ester Armstrong Scholarship, which memorializes a fair industry veteran who served as interim chief executive officer from 2006 to 2009.

Four students each received $2,000 in the four-year college category: Kyle Garlick of Dixon, Chico State University; Jess Bravos of Dixon, University of San Diego; Kyle Esquer of Dixon, Cal Poly; and Dominique Sloper of Vacaville, Cal Poly.

Cameron Garlick of Dixon, a student at Butte Community College, Oroville, received the Jack Hopkins Scholarship of $1,500, the top award in the community college category. His brother, Kyle, is a previous recipient of the award.

More information on the scholarship application rules is available on the Friends of the Fair website. The deadline to apply each year is 5 p.m. March 1. Applications must be on Friends of the Fair forms and include a personal essay and letters of support. They must be mailed to the Friends of the Fair, P.O. Box 242, Dixon, Calif. For more information, contact Hamel at cahamel@ucdavis.edu.

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Photo: Donnie Huffman of Vacaville, president of the Friends of the Dixon May Fair, and longtime secretary and scholarship chairman JoAn Giannoni of Dixon, are founding members of the Friends, which just established a college scholarship in her name. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)