Cloverdale volunteer wins national award

Sunday, September 22, 2013
Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars volunteer Vivian Whitaker recently received the Ralph "Cy" Seifert National Volunteer of the Year award from Scholarship America. Present for the ceremony was Don Setterlof from Dollars for Scholars.

Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars recently announced that local volunteer, Vivian Whitaker, has been selected to receive the Ralph "Cy" Seifert National Volunteer of the Year award from Scholarship America.

The National Volunteer of the Year Award honors and recognizes individual Dollars for Scholars affiliate volunteers who are instrumental in successfully guiding the course of Dollars for Scholars, a program of Scholarship America, in a significant and beneficial way.

Whitaker is a 1968 graduate of Cloverdale High School and holds B.S., M.S. and Ed.S. degrees from Indiana State University. She is a retired middle school educator, serving as a teacher, coach, athletic director, assistant principal and principal at West Central Jr.--Sr. High School, Brownsburg Jr. High School, Shelbyville Jr. High School and Batesville Middle School.

She is a life member of the National Science Teachers Association and the Indiana Association of School Principals where she is active with the Principals' Service Corp.

After the death of her parents, Charles and Lillian Whitaker, Whitaker moved back to Cloverdale to be nearer her family. She is currently a board member for both the Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars and the Putnam County Community Foundation.

Education has always been and always will be an important part of her life. Whitaker said, " I am blessed to have the opportunity to promote education and help all students in Cloverdale and Putnam County further their educational endeavors."

"Vivian goes above and beyond to serve Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars and the area students," said Lauren Segal, president and CEO, Scholarship America. "On behalf of Scholarship America, I would like to personally thank Vivian and ask that she keeps up the fantastic work that truly changes the lives of students and inspires other volunteers."

In order to be eligible for the award, a nominee must exhibit commitment to the mission of Dollars for Scholars and have more than three years of active participation with their local Dollars for Scholars affiliate at a consistently high level.

As the National Volunteer of the Year, Vivian will receive a $3,000 award on behalf of Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars for its scholarship program. In addition, Vivian will be honored at Scholarship America's annual recognition dinner on Oct. 24 in Minneapolis.

About Cloverdale Community Dollars for Scholars

In 1994, Bob Steele, Al Tucker, Dr. Keith Ernst, Linda Mann, Bob Gerlach and Steve Wittenauer started the Cloverdale Scholarship Fund with initial donations followed by the establishment of a golf tournament in memory of Chad Tucker and Brad Gerlach. This is an annual fundraising event which continues today. When the opportunity arose, this group formed a board and joined the Dollars for Scholars organization.

Since the spring of 1995, the chapter has awarded $235,000 to 326 graduating seniors from Cloverdale High School.

Current board members are: President Bob Steele, Vice President Mark McCammon, Treasurer Todd Lewis, Secretary Vivian Whitaker, Jane Huge, Matt Langdon, Jo Puckett, and Roger Shrum. CHS student representatives to the board are Aaron Whitlock, Chris Moghadam, and Mariah Huge.

About Scholarship America

Scholarship America mobilizes support for students getting into and graduating from college. Since 1958, Scholarship America has distributed more than $2.9 billion in scholarship assistance to more than 1.9 million students, funding both entry-level and multi-year scholarships and emergency financial grants. More information is available at www.scholarshipamerica.org.

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