Meet the 2009 Winners

Thanks to the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund, 150 children and/or grandchildren of Teamsters have less of a financial burden when it comes to college.

"This scholarship is truly a fitting memorial to my father," said Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa. "As college gets more and more expensive, these scholarships will help these talented young men and women meet their financial requirements. This scholarship furthers the Teamster tradition of helping working families."

Thousands of students honored the memory of James R. Hoffa by applying for the scholarship. The scholarship winners will use the money to further their education, as well as the legacy of the Teamsters.

One-hundred and fifty scholarships are awarded annually. Applicants compete in one of the five geographic regions where the Teamster parent’s local union is located.

Thirty-one of the awards total $10,000 each. These four-year scholarships are disbursed at the rate of $2,500 per year and are renewable annually. Sixty-nine of the awards are one-time grants of $1,000. The scholarships are disbursed to the college or university at the beginning of the recipient’s freshman year.  In addition, fifty one-time $1,000 awards are given for the annual essay contest for students already enrolled in college or a technical/vocational program.  These awards are disbursed for the students following spring semester.

The James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship quadruples the amount of money given by the Teamster National Scholarship, the previous award. While money from the past scholarship came from the Teamsters General Fund, the James R. Hoffa Scholarship is self-sustaining.

Teeing Off for Youth

Funding for the scholarship program comes from the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament, donations and the sale of merchandise like a scale model truck, Teamster jeans, t-shirts and denim jackets. Information on how to support the scholarship can be found on the Internet at www.teamster.org.

"This scholarship has only been established since 1999, and it has been a wonderful success," said Cheryl Johnson, former President of the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund. "We look forward to yet another group of bright and focused individuals who are preparing to meet their career goals by continuing their education next year."

In May 2009, the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund Executive Board elected W.C. Smith III as the new President to the Fund to replace Cheryl Johnson, who retired this year.

Applications for scholarships can be obtained by contacting your local union or on the Teamsters web site.

An impartial committee of university admissions and financial aid directors choose recipients based on academic achievement, SAT/ACT scores, and the students overall list of activities, distinctions and merit.  The impartial essay contest panel consists of labor educators from universities across the country.

Below is a list of this year’s four-year, $10,000 scholarship winners:
 

Central Region
Russell Bonneville IBT Local 413 Grove City, OH	Courtney Buck IBT Local 1224 Duluth, MN	Alexandra Budz IBT Local 734 Lockport, IL	Casey Burton IBT Local 688 Kaiser, MO
James Clifton IBT Local 916 Oakland, IL	Alyssa Dammann IBT Local 554 Manning, IA	Leslie Smebak IBT Local 346 Roseau, MN	Lawrence Tran IBT Local 743 Chicago, IL
Teamsters Canada
Pamela Langevin IBT Local 362 Boyle, AB	Julia Manalil IBT Local 419 Brampton, ON	David Martinez IBT Local 31 Abbotsford, BC	Tara McBryan IBT Local 213 Richmond, BC
Jason Tong IBT Local 213 Vancouver, BC
Eastern Region
Sminu Bose IBT Local 237 New City, NY	Eric Dietsche IBT Local 812 Bay Shore, NY	Claire Gianotti IBT Local 406 Huntington, NY	Matt Grossman IBT Local 237 New York, NY
Kyle Lenz IBT Local 805 Long Island City, NY	Paul Rosiak GCC/IBT Local 2-N Rockville, MD	Julia White IBT Local 170 Worchester, MA
Southern Region
Bobby Ray Hooten IBT Local 577 Wolfforth, TX	Daniel Ledford IBT Local 612 Cropwell, AL	Lindsey Maxon IBT Local 886 Arlington, TX	Jack Roberts IBT Local 728 Stock Bridge, GA
Nicole Sparacino IBT Local 745 Dallas, TX
Western Region
Brady Gough IBT Local 206 Eugene, OR	Haylie Hansen IBT Local 431 Clovis, CA	Anthony Jacobsmeyer IBT Local 631 Overton, NV	Andrew Marquette IBT Local 983 Chubbock, ID
Kelsi Nervik IBT Local 396 Bell Flower, CA	Kathrin Pitt IBT Local 763 Des Moines, WA

Below is a list of this year’s one-time, $1,000 scholarship winners:

Central Region:

• Grace Barski, Local 407, Broadview Hgts, OH
• Caitlin Borchardt, Local 344, Marathon, WI
• Megan Buckingham, Local 20, Huron, OH
• Douglas Dessecker, Local 200, Big Bend, WI
• Meagan Diede, Local 330, South Elgin, IL
• Amy Fisk, Local 89, Kailua, HI (member from Central)
• Kelsey Gonzenbach, LU 618, Grover, MO
• Marisha Johnson, Local 120, Woodbury, MN
• Dustin Moench, Local 344, Janesville, WI
• Bailey Moser, Local 364, Carpentersville, IL
• Tracy Pierce, Local 214, Emmett, MI
• Maxwell Pruner, Local 749, Sioux Falls, SD
• Grace Rojas, Local 247, Allen Park, MI
• Lauren Slattery, Local 364, South Bend, IN
• Allison Streifthau, Local 1224, Germantown, OH
• Morgan Thomas, Local 89, Springfield, KY
• Lauren Wagner, Local 344, Milwaukee, WI
• Kendra Watkins, Local 135, Indianapolis, IN
   

Teamsters Canada:

• Liane Angelie Arcinas, Local 979, Winnipeg, MB
• Leevon Bennett, Local 362, Calgary, AB
• Ashton Ellis, Local 213, Delta, BC
• Alexandra Gunn, Local 879, Fort Erie, ON
• Fuluny Jang, Local 213, Port Coquitlam, BC
• Wendy Lee, Local 31, Surrey, BC
• Katrena Macke, Local 879, Hanover, ON
• Sarah Miller, Local 880, Bothwell, ON
• Dayna Ortner, Local 464, Maple Ridge, BC
• Krystle Samways, Local 31, Aldergrove, BC
• Kurtis Stewart, Local 31, Surrey, BC 

Eastern Region:

• Edward Adams, Local 82, Quincy, MA
• Subasish Bhowmik, Local 331, Norfield, NJ
• Eric Bukovac, Local 249, Pittsburgh, PA
• Alex Englander, Local 813, Weston, FL (member from Eastern)
• Sean Gilmore, Local 25, Plymouth, MA
• Rachel Hoh, Local 633, Lititz, PA
• Philip Lee, Local 25, Boston, MA
• Jonathan Mendoza, Local 831, Bellerose, NY
• Taryn Mockus, Local 443, Branford, CT
• Addison Rice, Local 177, Sparta, NJ
• Daniel Riveria, Local 237, Williston Park, NY
• Michael Sheehan, Local 802, Smithtown, NY
• Ashton Songer, BLET Div. 314, Norwood, NC
• Sara-anne Williams, Local 175, Mannington, WV
• Jenna Witterman, Local 282, Farmingdale, NY

 

Southern Region:  

• Mary Gilchrist, Local 728, Marietta, GA
• Mitchell Hogg, Local 988, Kennard, TX
• Jacob Jones, Local 878, Trumann, AR
• Sarah Jones, Local 767, Whitewright, TX
• Jennifer Juergens, Local 919, Baytown, TX
• David Morris, Local 728, Carrollton, GA
• Christian Padgett, Local 79, Riverview, FL
• Peter Roser, Local 747, Liberty Twp., OH (member in Southern)
• Kari Schultz, Local 173, Parrish, FL
• Hillary Thornton, Local 728, Folkston, GA
• Ciara Waldron, Local 745, Grand Prairie, TX

   

Western Region:

• Kelsey Chambers, Local 542, La Crescenta, CA
• Naomi Cruz, Local 631, Beatty, NV
• Heidi Etzel, Local 670, Aumsville, OR
• Camden Hillman, Local 399, South Pasadena, CA
• William Hoagland, Local 231, Mount Vernon, WA
• Kryssa Isobe, Local 996, Waipahu, HI
• Skylar Johnson, Local 174, Gig Harbor, WA
• Samantha Kramer, Local 396, Woodland Hills, CA
• Erin Newport, GCC Local 388-M, Santa Cruz, CA
• Daniel Rios, Local 890, Oxnard, CA
• Kelsey Siddall, Local 324, Salem, OR
• Alanna Sing, Local 948, Visalia, CA
• Joel Slater, Local 986, Half Moon Bay, CA
• Michael Tieu, Local 670, Salem, OR
   

The James R Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund is an independent organization established and registered as a tax exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Fund is established solely to provide scholarships to the children and dependents of members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and contributions to the Fund are deductible as charitable contributions to the extent permitted by law. The International Union provides certain in kind services to the Fund, such as this portion of the Union website, in order to benefit members and their children and dependents.