06/24/2012

AAC awards college scholarships to 10 Arkansas high school students

LITTLE ROCK — The Association of Arkansas Counties recently announced its 2012 AAC Scholarship Trust recipients. AAC established the trust in 1985 to provide college financial assistance to the children, stepchildren, and grandchildren of Arkansas county and district officials and employees. AAC has since awarded more than $145,000 in scholarships.

Along with the association, the following county associations contribute to the scholarship trust annually: The County Judges Association of Arkansas, The Arkansas County Clerks Association, The Arkansas Circuit Clerks Association, The County Collectors Association of Arkansas, The Arkansas County Treasurers Association, The Assessors Association of Arkansas, The Arkansas Association of Quorum Courts and the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association.

Some of the requirements for applications include a minimum 3.0 grade point average, a minimum ACT score of 18, being high school graduate of Arkansas and all recipients must be a child, grandchild, adopted child or stepchild of a current or retired county employee of Arkansas.

The 2012 AAC scholarship recipients are:

Lauren Harvey

Harvey is a 2012 graduate of Ashdown High School and the daughter of Little River County Deputy Assessor Terah Bearden. Harvey will be attending Cossatot Community College pursing a degree in Elementary Education.

Rachel Tucker 

Tucker is a 2012 graduate of Hampton High School and the granddaughter of Norma Castleberry, retired Dallas County and Circuit Clerk. Tucker is enrolled at Ouachita Baptist University to study pre-pharmacy.

Coleman McRae

McRae is the son of Sharon McRae, Sevier County Deputy Tax Collector and a 2012 graduate of De Queen High School. McRae plans on attending the University of Central Arkansas and majoring in pre-pharmacy.

Joseph Korkames

Korkames is a 2012 graduate of Southside High School in Fort Smith. He is the son of Kimberly Brooks, Crawford County Deputy Clerk. Korkames will be attending Hendrix College pursing a degree in Biochemistry.

Courtney Wetherington

Wetherington is a 2012 graduate of Acorn High School in Mena. Wetherington is the daughter of Bill Wetherington, Polk County Road Department Foreman. She will be attending Rich Mountain Community College in Mena.

Sara Loe 

Loe is a 2011 graduate of Magnolia High School and the child of Columbia County Sheriff Michael Loe. Loe is attending the University of Central Arkansas while pursuing a Health Science degree.

Katie Brech

Brech is a 2012 graduate of Arkadelphia High School and the granddaughter of John L. McClellan, Cleveland County Justice of the Peace. Brech will be attending Ouachita Baptist University where she plans on pursuing a degree in Biology.

Melanie Herring 

Herring is a 2012 graduate of Woodlawn High School in Rison. She is the daughter of Donald R. Herring, Cleveland County Justice of the Peace. Herring plans on attending Ouachita Baptist University in order to obtain a degree in Biochemistry.

Deidre Holben

Holben is the daughter of Larry Holben, Johnson County Justice of the Peace and 2012 graduate of Lamar High School. Holben will be attending Arkansas State University – Beebe to obtain a degree in Veterinary Technology. (Holben is this year’s recipient of the Matt Morris Scholarship.)

Karen Ricketts

Ricketts is a 2011 graduate of Charleston High School and the daughter of Laura Ricketts, Franklin County Deputy Treasurer. Ricketts attends Arkansas Tech University where she is pursuing a degree in Broadcast Journalism.  (Ricketts is the first recipient of the Randy Kemp Memorial Scholarship.)

The AAC supports and promotes the idea that all elected officials must have the opportunity to act together in order to solve mutual problems as a unified group. To further this goal, the Association of Arkansas Counties is committed to providing a single source of cooperative support and information for all counties and county and district officials. The overall purpose of the association is to work for the improvement of county government in the state of Arkansas. The Association accomplishes this purpose by providing legislative representation, on-site assistance, general research, training, various publications and conferences to assist county officials in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of their office.