2019 SAWD College Scholarship Winners

Congratulations

2019 SAWD Scholarship Winners

Scholarship winner Luke Hightower, son of Sandy Zazulak, with Imperial Trading, is currently attending Louisiana State University. Congratulations, Luke! Congratulations to James Strickland, winner of a 2019 Southern Scholarship! James is attending the University of North Florida and is the son of Tonya Strickland with Swisher International. Scholarship winner Darren Ioos, son of Carl Ioos, with Republic Tobacco, is attending Clemson University. Congratulations, Darren! The winner of our Technical Scholarship is Emily Ruzicka, daughter of Elizabeth Ruzicka with Scandinavian Tobacco Group. Emily is currently attending Gwinnett Tech. Congratulations, Emily!

Since 2012, The Southern has awarded more than $90,000 in scholarships to sons and daughters of its member organizations. Thanks to the SAWD Education Fund and the Annual Silent Auction, three scholarships are awarded to students who show their creativity by writing an essay on a trend or challenge in the convenience industry. The 2019 essay question was “What are you looking for in an employer once you get out of college…how would you define the perfect employer?”

Starting in 2020, we will be awarding an additional scholarship called the Greg Martin Annual Scholarship. This scholarship was created to celebrate all that Greg did for our members, our businesses, our association and the industry over the last 20+ years. The Greg Martin Annual Scholarship will go to the top elected entrant with the essay and details of that individual being shared with Greg’s family each year. Choosing only four of these submissions from our 4-year college applicants and one for the Technical Scholarship was not easy for the scholarship judges! The Southern will be announcing the 2020 winners in June. Best of luck to everyone who has applied! n