Advent Christian Village Supports Youth Through Educational Scholarships

Advent Christian Village (ACV) has been ministering to children for over 100 years. Today, that continues in a number of ways, including the administration of educational scholarships: the Forward Fund Scholarship and the Marvin E. Jones Scholarship.

On April 25, students and their families eagerly gathered at ACV in anticipation of the awarding of the 2017 scholarships. At the conclusion of the meal, ACV President Craig Carter acknowledged the benefactors who established the scholarship trusts, making the entire evening possible. Marvin E. Jones, a respected international business executive, and Dr. and Mrs. Al Lawton who established the Forward Fund at Advent Christian Village in order to assist employees of ACV and their children in continuing education.

Craig read a letter from last year’s top scholarship winner, Kaitlyn Rogers, who was unable to attend the banquet. She wrote that, late in high school,  she had decided to not pursue a softball scholarship and that the Jones Scholarship has made it possible for her to still attend college and to get the degree in early childhood education she desires. It was clear that the scholarship is making and will make a huge impact on Kaitlyn’s life.

Next, Mike and Robert Jones, sons of Marvin E. Jones, each praised their father who established the trust, describing him as a person who strongly believed in education and wanted to help the young people of Suwannee County to achieve success. They congratulated the students and offered words of encouragement.

Representing Suwannee County, School Superintendent Ted Roush congratulated the students and thanked the trustees for their support of education.

Forward Fund Trustees Craig Carter and Tim Setzer awarded Forward Fund Scholarships to three ACV employees: Taliyah Bonner, Randy Lamb and Doris Vences.

Then, Craig, Mike and Robert presented the scholarships to the children of ACV employees from the Marvin E. Jones Educational Trust. Receiving scholarships were Blakely Burch, Lindsay Carter, Tim Carter, Katie Fulford, Rachel Lake, Amanda Mabey, Christine Mabey, Brandi Taylor, Allie Wilkerson and Koryn Williamson-Becker.

The final awards of the evening were to the Marvin E. Jones Educational Trust 2017 Suwannee High School finalists. Mike Jones stated that they were pleased to be able to award scholarships to each of the seven finalists. Receiving a one-time scholarship of $1,000 were Kaleb Dye, Mikaila Letu and Jesus Mendoza. The two runners up, each receiving a $3,000 scholarship to be awarded over two years, were Hannah George and Pascual Jahuey. The winner of this year’s four-year scholarship, totaling $20,000, was Keverly Lee.

Advent Christian Village counts it a great pleasure to be part of the effort to promote continuing education for these outstanding local students.