Chamber to give away scholarships to local students for the 16th year

[March 24, 2015]  LINCOLN - The Chamber Ag Scholarship Breakfast is designed to recognize the economic impact of agriculture in Logan County and to honor the recipients of the Ag Scholarship. This event is possible due to the generosity of over 50 Logan County businesses. The Ag Scholarship Breakfast directly reflects the Chamber’s mission to advocate, support, and unify local businesses for the prosperity of Logan County.

During the history of the breakfast, the Chamber’s Ag Committee has awarded $108,000 in scholarships to high school seniors and college students pursuing an education in agriculturally related fields. Last year the Chamber Ag Committee changed their scholarship selection practices. In order to have a greater impact, the committee decided to limit the number of scholarships given out each year to no more than eight and each student can only win the Ag Scholarship twice. The committee appointed a panel to conduct interviews of the qualified applicants in order to know each applicant better. The committee believes that the key to the future of agriculture in Logan County is to invest in these bright young students.

This year’s speaker is Jonathan Coppess, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and Policy in the department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics at University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign. At U of I, Coppess teaches Agriculture Law and provides research leadership in policy issues impacting agriculture and risk management. He also assists in leading a program that helps undergraduates find Washington D.C. internships with government agencies, congressmen, or other organizations that help to broaden their educational experiences while at U of I. Coppess had firsthand experience with the Farm Bill while the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency of the Department of Agriculture.

The breakfast is open to the community at no cost. It will be held on March 26, 2015 7 a.m. at Lincoln Christian University Laughlin Center. Those wishing to attend are encouraged to RSVP to the Chamber by Wednesday, March 25th, by phone at 217-735-2385 or email to [e-mail]. 

[Nicole Cox, Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce]