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Ripon 4-H, FFA students receive Friends of SJ Fair scholarships
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The 13 senior high school students who received the scholarship awards this year presented by the Friends of the San Joaquin Fair have their picture taken after the award presentation held at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. They are Anna Miller of Linden FFA, Cole Lauchland of Lodi FFA, Darian Caton of Escalon FFA, Dana Brady of Linden FFA, Breanna Holbert of Tokay FFA, Veronica Viramontes of Tokay FFA, Jenna OBrien of Ripon 4-H, Samantha Yates of Lodi FFA, Cassady Hill of Ripon FFA, Eli Barila of Tokay FFA, Tyler Hendon of Ripon FFA, and Lyndsee Cracraft and Mary Joe Perry of Tracy FFA. - photo by Photo Contributed

Thirteen seniors from various high schools in San Joaquin County were the recipients of scholarships this year presented by the non-profit organization Friends of the San Joaquin Fair.

Among the recipients are Jenna O’Brien of the Ripon 4-H, and Cassady Hill and Tyler Hendon, both of the Ripon FFA.

The organization awarded a total of $11,500 to the seniors who are graduating this year and are going on to college.

The other scholarship recipients this year are Anna Miller and Dana Brady of the Linden FFA; Samantha Yates and Cole Lauchland of the Lodi FFA; Darian CAton of the Escalon FFA; Breanna Holbert, Veronica Viramontes, and Eli Barila of Tokay FFA; and, Lyndsee Cracraft and Mary Joe Perry of the Tracy FFA.

The awards were presented at the organization’s annual dinner-fundraiser held at the county fairgrounds on March 28. The students who received scholarships were exhibitors at previous fairs and Ag Fest.

The Ag Fest was an event held last year through the auspices of an all-volunteer group that stepped forward to fill in the gap left by the absence of the county fair last year. The Ag Fest, which made it possible for FFA and 4-H members to show their animals to sell them at the auction which concluded the four-day event, was not affiliated with the Friends of the Fair.

The Friends of the Fair was formed more than a decade ago. The awarding of the scholarships every year fulfills part of its mission which is to “provide financial and volunteer support for the education and community-building projects of the San Joaquin County Fair and the 2nd District Agricultural Association.” Throughout that time, the group has managed to award scholarships every year.

And that’s just one of the many things the organization has done. It has been responsible for a number of improvements at the fairgrounds which include replacing gutters in some of the exhibit buildings, painting the livestock barns, and purchasing new wash racks so the students who bring their sheep, goats, steers and other animals to the fair are able to clean their animals and get them prepared and groomed for the shows.

In addition to the scholarships, Friends of the Fair has also helped the students by purchasing the various awards presented to the winners in the animal shows. And not just ribbons. They include belt buckles, jackets, sweat shirts and feeders “so the kids got something other than just a ribbon from the fair,” said Patti Fichtner of Manteca in an interview last year. She and her husband Ed, a retired Manteca Unified ag teacher, are part of the volunteer manpower supporting the Friends of the Fair.

Money that Friends of the Fair use to do all the above projects comes, in part, from the annual dinner-dance fundraiser, the same event that served as the backdrop for the scholarships awards on March 28.

Anyone who wants to make a donation to the Friends of the Fair can do so by visiting www.sanjoaquinfair.com (click on Friends of the Fair) or by calling the Fair office during business hours at 209.466.5041. Donations can be mailed to Friends of the Fair, P.O. Box 30176, Stockton, CA 95206.