Luke Baker TCHS	Courtney Comer THS	Toni Cox TCHS
Kayla Friend THS	Chris Grosvenor THS	Adam Landers THS
Lori Nierzwick THS	Natalie White TCHS

Two students will receive full, four-year scholarships as the Tipton County Foundation 2008 Lilly Endowment Community Scholars. Andrew Dundas and Lauren Hobbs will receive full tuition to the Indiana college of their choice and an $800 yearly stipend for required books and equipment.

Twenty-nine Tipton County residents applied for these prestigious and valuable scholarships this year. Their applications were anonymously and independently reviewed by the Foundation’s scholarship committee, composed of education and business leaders, who selected ten candidates to be interviewed in person. The criteria included academics, leadership, community involvement, activities (including work and travel experiences), and an essay about their most significant accomplishment to date.

After completing the selection process, the Tipton County Foundation submitted the finalists’ names to the the Independent Colleges of Indiana, Inc. (ICI) for selection of the recipients. ICI is a nonprofit corporation that represents 31 regionally accredited degree granting, nonprofit, private colleges and universities in the state.

Thanks to the bequest of Howard N. Myerly, who established a significant George R. Myerly & Sons scholarship fund in memory of his grandfather, the Tipton County Foundation was able to grant one-year Myerly Scholarships of $2,000 each to the remaining eight finalists in the demanding LECSP process.

Receiving the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships are:

Andrew Dundas is the son of Thomas A. and Denise M. Dundas of Sharpsville. He will attend Butler University, Saint Joseph’s College or Marian College majoring in pre-pharmacy. He is a member of the Tri-Central Baseball team, National Honor Society, St. Patrick Catholic Church Youth Group, the Peer Tutoring program and umpires youth baseball games. Andrew plans to become a pharmacist.

Lauren Hobbs is the daughter of Scott and Lisa Hobbs of Atlanta. She will attend Purdue University to major in Business Management. Active in Student Council, National Honor Society, Future Farmers of America, National Art Honor Society, and Girls’ Soccer, Lauren seeks a career in business with a focus in marketing.

The Myerly Scholars are the following students:

Luke Baker is the son of Brad and Mary Baker of Sharpsville. He plans to attend Purdue University and major in Actuarial Science. Luke has been involved with Boys’ Soccer, his church youth group, National Honor Society, and SADD. He has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. He plans to work as an actuary and work his way up to CEO of an insurance company.

Courtney Comer is the daughter of Pat and Cheryl Comer of Tipton. She will be attending Indiana Wesleyan University as an Accounting major this fall. She is a member of National Honor Society, Business Professionals of America, Student Council, Varsity Basketball, Soccer, and Softball, and the Positive Peers program. Courtney plans to become a Certified Public Accountant.

Toni Cox is the daughter of Tony and Debbie Cox of Sharpsville. She will be attending the University of Evansville as an English major. She is involved in events at her church, Yearbook, National Honor Society, the Gifted and Talented program, and soccer. Toni’s future plans are to write fiction and children’s storied and publish a magazine

Kayla Friend is the daughter of Sam and Amy Friend of Tipton. She will attend the University of St. Francis to major in nursing, planning to become Nurse Practitioner. Kayla is the President of the National Honor Society, a member of the Girls’ Basketball team, in Student Council, National Art Honor Society, and Positive Peers.

Christopher Grosvenor is the son of John Grosvenor and Angela Grosvenor of Tipton. He will be attending Indiana University in Bloomington as a Business Marketing major this fall. He is a member of the Football and Baseball teams, Student Council, and Project Connect. Chris is a Blue Crew leader, the Vice-President of the Senior Class. He plans to become an entrepreneur upon graduation from college.

Adam Landers is the son of Theresa Landers of Tipton. He plans to major in Aeronautical Technology at Purdue University. Adam has been involved in Wrestling, Football, Business Professionals of America, German Club, and Blue Devil Kickoff. His future plans included working for NASA or another aeronautical company.

Lori Nierzwick is the daughter Larry and Sheryl Nierzwick of Kirklin. She is undecided on her major course of study, but plans to attend Ball State University. Lori is a member of West Street Christian Church, THS Young Originals, THS Band, Tipton Community Theatre, and Tipton County 4-H. After college, she plans to pursue a people-oriented career where she can make a difference.

Natalie White is the daughter of John and Pauline White of Sharpsville. She is going to Ball State University to major in English Literature. She is involved with Spell Bowl, her church youth group, National Honor Society, and Academic Bowl. Natalie plans to pursue a career in editing for a major publishing firm.

Pioneer Family Establishes Permanent Legacy

The late Howard N. Myerly (1925-2004) and his wife Marjorie valued education. In planning his estate, Howard set up a means to provide scholarship opportunities for his neighbors' children for all time.

Five generations earlier, in 1842, George Myerly and his wife Susannah, originally from Maryland, established a farm in eastern Tipton County. They took part in the official organization of the County. Their son Silas, his son George R., and his son Lee all continued farming, as did Lee's son Howard. Howard was also a die setter at the Guide Lamp Division of General Motors in Anderson for 32 years, retiring in 2000.

Howard made arrangements that, upon his death, the farm would be sold and the proceeds given to the Tipton County Foundation in honor of his grandfather, to provide an endowment that would assist in funding higher education for county high school graduates, forever.

According to TCF Scholarship chairman Brad Nichols, "The size of this endowment is so noteworthy, it will produce a significant amount of money that can be awarded each year. We were pleased that Mr. Myerly's heirs agreed with us that the rigorous Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship selection process was the best way to determine who should receive the Myerly scholarships as well."

The Tipton County Foundation is a volunteer-driven nonprofit public charity established in 1986 to serve donors, award grants, and provide leadership to improve the quality of life in Tipton County, forever. Contributions to TCF are tax-deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Last modified: Tuesday, June 15, 2010