Congratulations 2022 SAWD Scholarship Winners

SINCE 2012, THE SOUTHERN HAS AWARDED MORE THAN $100,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS to employees and children of its member organizations. Thanks to the Southern Education Fund and the Annual Silent Auction, scholarships are awarded to students who show their creativity by writing an essay on a trend or challenge in the convenience industry. The 2022 essay question was “Employees and employers are always looking for the right fit. What kind of workplace culture do you look for when pursuing a professional opportunity?”

Beginning in 2020, we awarded an additional scholarship called the Greg Martin Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship was created to celebrate all that Greg did for our members, our businesses, our association and the industry over the last 20+ years. The Greg Martin Memorial Scholarship goes to the top elected entrant with the essay and details of that individual being shared with Greg’s family each year.

Choosing only four of these submissions from our 4-year college applicants and one for the Technical Scholarship was not easy for the scholarship judges! The Southern will be announcing the 2023 winners in June. Best of luck to everyone who has applied! n

Above left: Congratulations to Carter Barnes, winner of one of the 2022 Southern Scholarships! Carter is attending the University of Georgia and is the son of Kevin Barnes with Stewart Distribution.

Above: Congratulations to Cecilia Roberts, winner of one of the 2022 Southern Scholarships! Cecilia is attending the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine and is the daughter of Calvin Roberts with The H.T. Hackney Company.

Left: Congratulations to our 2022 Scholarship winner Erin Krachey, daughter of Douglas Krachey with Farner Bocken/Core-Mark. Erin is attending University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Like most children, I had an arbitrary idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up. While becoming a doctor or veterinarian never appealed to me, having a hotel, setting up a storefront, and playing “restaurant” with my sisters always did. As a little girl, my entrepreneurial spirit had me selling brownies to neighbors, crafting potholders for family members, and even selling buckeyes at my neighborhood art fair for $0.50 apiece.

At a very young age, the world of business fascinated me, and even still, it continues to intrigue me as new experiences refresh my love and wonder for it. However, it was not until I got my first real job at the age of thirteen that I started to pick up on the intangible things which make a good company function and flourish. Working at a country club taught me the goodness of hard labor, babysitting showed me the beauty of leadership, and being employed at a freelance business revealed the importance of order and a shared common goal. Moreover, being the oldest of five girls also helped me discern what attributes make for a good, careerestablishing company.

In a big household, the job of delegating responsibilities often falls upon the eldest child, as does being a good example, and a hard-working contributor yourself. And yet, the beauty of being a part of a big family is seeing each member work together for the good of the whole by joyfully partaking in the mundane tasks of everyday life. All these experiences combined have made it clear to me what I admire in the workplace: a community of people who are not just working together toward one common goal, but who are also striving to cultivate talents and develop skills that will make them valuable assets to the entire company. I can attest to the combined power of diligence, determination, and initiative in approaching various work-related situations, and yet, I can only imagine how much further one organization could spread its mission if every individual were to fully utilize these gifts.

When I first began attending Hillsdale College, I was immediately enamored by all the students who so diligently pursued their studies and never once ceased striving for excellence. There was this healthy sense of competition between each student as one was always trying to meet the standard that the other set, but there was also this beautiful camaraderie, a celebration of every small improvement and achieved goal. The students had formed a loving community: the respect they had for one another was so great that they could not help but hold each other to a higher standard. The love they had for one another was the type of knowing love that a gardener has for his rosebush, the love that painfully urges him to prune his roses so that they might bloom and bear fruit in the future.

One could not help but notice that each student truly wanted to see his friends grow both in knowledge and skill, wisdom and understanding. And so, even though I am constantly challenged, I happily accept each task because I know that there is purpose behind their pruning. In every company I have ever worked for, I have always looked for an organization that would challenge me and urge me towards excellency. I want the future company that I partner with to be for me what the students at Hillsdale College have been for me since my enrollment. By working hard and being an encouragement to others, I can only hope that my future colleagues will be pruned as I have been, that their minds will be developed and their hearts improved upon. All in all, if I am ever so fortunate to be a part of a company that remains unflagging in pursuit of these principles, I am confident that I will be able to both see and partake in opportunities which exceed my wildest vocational dreams. n