Rotary Contest awards $6,000 in scholarships

Four Sisters High School seniors got a financial boost for their futures after sharing a total of $6,000 in the first annual Rotary Professional Technical contest.

A panel of five judges selected Ben Scharf as the first place winner based upon his presentation of piano and guitar music before a luncheon group of about 35 Rotarians. Two of Scharf's selections were his own original songs, performed with an acoustic guitar.

Scharf, who will study music at the University of Oregon, earned $3,000.

The three other finalists each received $1,000 as runners-up.

Jordan Beck presented the photography work that he has done in the past year, including images from a trip to Nepal, some wedding and graduation portraits, and clippings from The Nugget and The Bulletin. Beck will attend Rochester Institute of Technology in New York in the fall to study photojournalism.

Bethany Benhower spoke about her display of visual art and how she expresses herself and gives of herself through her portraits of people. She hopes to attend Westmont College in Southern California next year.

Angie Zandonatti, who is bound for Brigham Young University's graphic arts program, showed a power point presentation that represented some of the graphic art work she has done, including posters for the Jazz Festival, T-shirt designs and some of her fine art pieces.

"The Rotary Club originally planned to give $5,000, but the candidates were all so good, it was decided to come up with some more," said Tammy Robillard.

Judges included Kathy Deggendorfer, Dennis McGregor, Karen Sheperd, Chip Belden, and Gary Keown and Kendra Jordan.

The contest was conceived about two years ago when some members began looking for ways to encourage students with interests beyond the regular academic, college preparatory path. The money can be used at any accredited trade or technical school, apprenticeships, as well as two- or four-year colleges.

"I think it's a great process for the kids to do a project and present it to a group of adults," said Robillard. "This year's group was really impressive."