PICKENS COUNTY — The Pickens County Sheriff’s Scholarship Foundation awarded fifteen scholarships today totaling $15,000.00. Sheriff Stone presented each recipient with a scholarship award in the amount of $1,000.00 to continue their education at various colleges and universities around the state.

The Sheriff’s Scholarship Foundation was established in 1989 to provide a perpetual scholarship fund to aid law enforcement personnel and their children in pursuing advanced educational degrees to better equip themselves with the skills necessary to solve problems facing our community in the 21st Century.

This year’s recipients are Kelli Bergholm, Bryan Jaynes, Kristin Bergholm, Tessa Leslie, Brad Bowen, Matt Lockaby, Megan Burgess, Lauren Looper, Abigail Byers, Eric Mackey, Shannon Ellenburg, Andy Rackley, Nathan Galloway, Courtney Sargent and Elijah Hayes.

Since its inception, the Scholarship Foundation has awarded over $233,000.00 to law enforcement personnel and/or their children. These scholarships are made possible through concerned businesses and individuals that donated to and participated in the Sheriff’s Scholarship Foundation Golf Tournament.

The 2011 Tournament will be held Tuesday, October 4 at the Pickens Country Club. For information and registration for this twenty third annual tournament, contact the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office at 898-5534.