2010 Awards Ceremony
July 13, 2010

Once again a diverse group of individuals gathered in the Grand Hall of the Governor’s Mansion for the scholarships presentation luncheon. Family, friends, sponsors and donors united in their common purpose; to offer encouragement and support to the 2010 recipients of the Kids’ Chance of Arkansas scholarships.

	Since the inception of the Kids’ Chance of Arkansas scholarship program in 2002, 179 scholarships, totaling $319,500, have been awarded to dependents of employees killed or rendered permanently and totally disabled with compensable Arkansas Workers’ Compensation claims. Scholarship awards have risen from $7,500 in 2002 to $56,000 in 2010. Funding for these scholarships is made possible through the generosity of corporate and individual donors, as well as fund raising events like the Kids’ Chance of Arkansas Charity Golf Tournament.
Guests listened as Michelle McElroy, a current and past recipient, shared about the loss of her father at the age of eight and the struggle to attain the education he would have wanted for her. Michelle spoke with gratitude to the sponsors and donors for the Kids’ Chance scholarships which are allowing her to reach her education goals. Michelle expects to graduate in the Spring of 2011 with an associates degree in Health Administration.	Michelle McElroy 2010 Scholarship Recipient
Keynote Speaker L. J. Bryant Past Scholarship Recipient	Keynote speaker, L. J. Bryant, entrepreneur, business owner and political candidate from Jonesboro, offered words of encouragement to this year’s recipients. Having been a past recipient of Kids’ Chance of Arkansas scholarships, L. J.’s message resonated with the audience; L. J. has been in the recipients’ place and understands their struggle to attain higher education. L. J. offered many thanks to Kids’ Chance and its supporters for the help he received in meeting his educational goals. He offered hope to this year’s recipients, as well, that it is possible to overcome the tragedy that has marked their lives by attaining their educational goals; been there; done that; and you can too.
Board Members Shawn McNerlin, Lynn Forbush and Tom Strickland shared emcee duties presenting the recipients in attendance with their scholarship awards as well as presenting certificates of appreciation to the many sponsors able to attend. Special Thanks were given to Patrick Mathieu and Mike Edwards of Skippy/Unilever of Little Rock for the company’s many years of support as well as providing goodie bags of Skippy/Unilever products to this year’s recipients.	Board Member Tom Strickland with Patrick Mathieu of Unilever/Skippy

The educational dreams of our recipients are achieved, in large part, because of the support and involvement of our sponsors and donors. With continued strong support from the Kids’ Chance Board of Directors, volunteers, generous sponsors and donors, the dependents of Arkansas’ injured workers will maintain the ability to achieve their educational goals.

2010 Scholarship Recipients