FOE, Shaffer, Clarkson & Helmick Scholarships Awarded
Parsons Advocate August 2011
FOE, Shaffer, Clarkson & Helmick Scholarships Awarded
The Tucker Community Foundation Board of Directors has awarded the 2011 Fraternal Order of Eagles Scholarship to Logan Lemon, son of Robert and Marcia Lemon of Thomas, WV to pursue studies in Aerospace Engineering at West Virginia University. The Fraternal Order of Eagles Scholarship Fund was established in 1997. The fund is managed by the Foundation and provides an annual scholarship award for a graduating senior whose parent or grandparents are members of the FOE #936 or Ladies Auxiliary.
Kassidy Easter and Devin Smith of Parsons were awarded Harold W. and Ruth F. Shaffer Scholarships. Easter plans to pursue a nursing degree at Davis & Elkins College. She is the daughter of Charles Johnson. Smith is enrolled in Pierpont Community & Technical College to obtain certification to become a power plant operator. He is the son of James and Teresa Smith.
The Harold and Ruth Shaffer Fund was established by Mr. & Mrs. Shaffer in 1997 to provide annual awards to a Tucker County High School male and female graduate to further their education at any state college or university in West Virginia. Mr. Shaffer was a 1926 graduate of Parsons High School and a veteran of the United States Army. He attended Fairmont State College, West Virginia University and Columbia University. A teacher at Parsons High School (1933 – 1973), he was responsible for establishing the National Honor Society at the school. He was also the first sponsor of the Bow Tie club, adviser of the Hi-Y Club, and class sponsor for the classes of 1942, 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972. Mrs. Shaffer, the former Ruth Forman, was a native of Barbour County and a graduate of Philippi High School. She worked at the First National Bank (now Mountain Valley Bank, NA) in Parsons from 1960 to 1972. After their retirement in ‘72, the couple moved to Philippi where they lived until the time of their deaths.
The Shaffers also established the Herbert W. Clarkson Scholarship Fund in honor of Ruth’s uncle to provide annual scholarship awards for one male and female graduate of TCHS. Kaitlyn Bodkins and Bradley Parsons of Parsons, received the Clarkson Scholarship Awards this year. Bodkins is the daughter of April and Richard Bodkin, Jr. She plans to study Criminal Justice at Davis & Elkins College. Parsons plans to study Electrical / Electronic Technology at Fayetteville Technical College. He is the son of Michael Parsons and Stacey (Parsons) McCrum.
The 2011 Walter & Mary Shaffer Helmick Scholarship was awarded to Brian Quattro, II of Davis. Quattro plans to pursue studies in Wildlife Management at Potomac State College. He is the son of Brian and Dana Quattro. The Helmick Scholarship Fund was established in 2000 with donations from the Shaffer-Helmick family and friends to provide assistance to a graduating Tucker County High School senior who elects to further their education. Walter Grant Helmick, was born in 1896 in the Sugarlands community of Tucker County and died in Thomas in 1966. He served as a member of the United States Engineer Volunteers in the Spanish-American War in Cuba, was a charter member of the Thomas Volunteer Fire Department, a member of the United Mine Workers of America, a member of the fraternal Order of Eagles of Davis, the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Parsons, and the Knights of Pythias of Parsons. On July 1, 1900 he married Mary Belle Shaffer at Close Mountain, near Parsons. Mary was the daughter of Louis C. and Sarah Close Shaffer and a member of the Macabees and the Ladies of the Knights of Pythias. Walter and Mary owned a grocery store in Thomas and also a bottling company which was later sold to Nehi. They raised eleven children whose families continue to gather at the annual Shaffer-Helmick family reunion.
Tucker Community Foundation manages endowed funds that are established by donors who want to provide perpetual funding to benefit local students and communities. To view the complete list of funds managed by TCF, visit www.tuckerfoundation.net. Scholarship applications will be available February 2012.
