KERRVILLE—Twelve high school graduates from the Hill Country have been chosen to receive full scholarships from The Cailloux Foundation of Kerrville. The Foundation announced the establishment of The Cailloux Foundation Scholarship Program to benefit high school graduates in the Hill Country in 2000.

Graduating seniors have been selected as Cailloux scholars from high schools in Bandera, Center Point, Comfort, Fredericksburg, Harper, Ingram, Junction, Kerrville, Leakey, Medina, and Rocksprings. The awards are up to $10,000 per recipient annually and are for undergraduate study only. The scholarships are renewable for up to four years for a maximum multi-year award of $40,000 per student. At its full maturity, the program will have up to 48 students participating as scholarship recipients. Recipients will attend public universities in the State of Texas.

The scholarship recipients are Fanninn Feldmann and Rory Roberts of Bandera, Amanda Jones of Center Point, Bess Collier of Waring, Heather Loth of Fredericksburg, Audrey Farahani of Harper, Andrea Fields of Kerrville, Geraldo Martinez of Junction, Ashley Van Klaveren of Kerrville, Bonnie Corwin of Rio Frio, Joshua Hicks of Medina, and Imelda Benavidez of Rocksprings. 

A limited number of applications were made available to each eligible Hill Country high school for distribution among students selected by local scholarship committees. The applicants met or exceeded a minimum Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score requirement of 1017, which is the current national average. They also have a minimum grade average of 85 and are in the top one-third of their graduating classes.

Final selection of recipients for the scholarship awards was made by Scholarship Management Services (SMS), a division of Citizens Scholarship Foundation of America in St. Peter, MN. SMS utilized standard comprehensive recipient selection procedures including the consideration of past academic performance and future potential, statement of career goals and educational aspirations, financial need, work experience, unusual personal or family circumstances, leadership skills, participation in school and community activities, and recommendation letters in making the final selections.

“On behalf of the Foundation, I congratulate each of these students. We believe that this program will also provide an added incentive for students coming up through these Hill Country schools to do well academically and provide positive leadership in their schools and communities,” said Betty Vernon, Program Director for the Foundation.

Floyd A. and Kathleen C. Cailloux created The Cailloux Foundation in 1994. The Foundation’s mission is to perpetuate their vision through the betterment of individual lives, with emphasis on the needs of disadvantaged children. Mr. Cailloux was co-founder of Keystone International and was instrumental in the company becoming a leader in the manufacturing and marketing of industrial valves for general industry. In 1981, Mr. and Mrs. Cailloux moved from Houston to Kerrville, Texas where they became very involved in charitable endeavors in the Texas Hill Country and around the state. The Foundation continues these endeavors by quietly awarding grants to eligible nonprofit organizations mainly in the Hill Country.

 For more information about The Cailloux Foundation Scholarship Program please go to the Scholarship Program section on this site.n