Meredith Thompson of Monroe County has been recognized for having the highest-scoring application among students who participated in this summer’s first session of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program.
Thompson, 16, a junior at Monroe County High School, was presented the Doug Reece Memorial Award at the Rogers Scholars graduation ceremony, held July 2 at The Center in Somerset at the conclusion of the one-week program.
The award is presented in memory of the late Doug Reece, a prominent attorney in Southern and Eastern Kentucky and former chairman of the executive committee of The Center’s board of directors.
Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center, and Jessica Melton, associate director of leadership and training, presented Thompson with a handcrafted Appalachian dulcimer donated by Dr. Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. She also will receive a $250 scholarship to any in-state college or university as part of the award.
“I have had an incredible experience at Rogers Scholars,” Thompson said. “The friends I have met and the lessons about leadership, entrepreneurship, and community service all will be remembered throughout my life.”
“Being chosen as a Rogers Scholar is an honor for the students, their schools, and their communities, as it is a highly competitive, blinded selection process,” Melton added. “These students truly represent the best and brightest minds in our region.”
Thompson was selected by The Center—which hosts and sponsors Rogers Scholars—to join 36 rising high school juniors from across Southern and Eastern Kentucky for the first of two summer sessions of Rogers Scholars. The opening week was held June 27-July 2, culminating with an awards program and recognition of graduates on the final day of the session.
The Center’s board of directors created the Doug Reece Memorial Award and scholarship in his name to recognize one Rogers Scholar from each of the summer’s two graduating classes. Reece served on the board of directors from 1995 through 2005 and was board chairman at the time of his death in 2006.
Thompson is the daughter of Mark and Pat Thompson of Tompkinsville.
The Center for Rural Development—the Center of Excellence for rural Kentucky and the nation—provides economic and community development programs to residents in a 42-county primary service area of Southern and Eastern Kentucky, and is home to several statewide and national technology-based programs. For more information on programs available through The Center, visit www.centertech.com.
Photo Caption: Lonnie Lawson, right, president and CEO of The Center for Rural Development, and Jessica Melton, left, associate director of leadership and training, present Rogers Scholar Meredith Thompson—recipient of the Doug Reece Memorial Award—with a handcrafted Appalachian dulcimer donated by Dr. Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. Thompson, 16, a junior at Monroe County High School, also will receive a $250 scholarship to any in-state college or university through her receipt of the Doug Reece Memorial Award. |
