You may remember this #ThrowbackThursday story from the 2011 Annual Report.
You could say the Community Foundation of Boone County was kind of like a matchmaker that found the perfect match in Sarah Garst and Barb Portell.
A farm girl who is active in 4-H, Garst has dreams of being a large animal veterinarian. That means she can look forward to as many as eight years of college – and eight years of college expenses. As one of five kids, the Western Boone High School graduate knows she’ll need to pay for most of those expenses herself.
Portell dreamed of a way to honor the member of her late husband, Darrell. So, in 1998 she created a scholarship fund that each year provides education funds to a high school student active in 4-H.
Recently, those two dreams united when Garst received the Darrell Portell 4-H Scholarship, administered through the Community Foundation. It was one of nine scholarships Garst earned.
Portell knows her husband would be delighted. 4-H was a big part of life for Barb, Darrell and their kids, and know their granddaughter is active as well. “Darrell would be very proud since the 4-H program and the kids were very near and dear to his heart,” she says. “He would love being able to assist the 4-H kids with their college expenses.”
But Barb Portell, a longtime Community Foundation board member who has served on its grants committee for nearly two decades, has another reason for supporting the scholarship fund: personal experience. Her daughter received scholarships when she graduated from high school. “It made me appreciate just how much a scholarship helps,” she says, “both financially and as a morale booster.”
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Learn more about CFBC scholarships here.