Marion CFB Foundation Awards $17,750 in Scholarships

Ten (10) students were recently selected to receive scholarships totaling $17,750 from the Marion County Farm Bureau (CFB) Foundation for the 2025-2026 school year.  The Foundation congratulates this year’s recipients and wishes them continued success in their future pursuits.

This year’s scholarship recipients include:

• AJ Wilkins ($2,750) – son of Richard and Toni Wilkins of Salem, a 2025 Salem HS graduate with plans to attend Kaskaskia College for Ag Education and Ag Business before transferring to Murray State. AJ’s scholarship(s) includes $1,750 from the Marion CFB Foundation and $1,000 from the Berniece Swan Memorial Scholarship.
• Audrey Lueking ($2,750) – daughter of Chad and Donna Lueking of Salem, a 2025 Christ Our Rock Lutheran HS graduate with plans to attend Murray State to study Pre-Veterinary. Audrey’s scholarship(s) includes $1,750 from the Marion CFB Foundation and $1,000 from the Berniece Swan Memorial Scholarship.
• Kyla Engel ($2,000) – daughter of Kent and Erin Engel of Kinmundy, a 2024 South Central HS graduate that is majoring in Ag Business at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
• Rayce Hiestand ($2,000) – son of Darrin and Angela Hiestand of Alma, a 2025 South Central HS graduate planning to enroll in the John Deere Tech Program at Lakeland College. Rayce’s scholarship(s) includes $1,750 from the Marion CFB Foundation and $250 from the Richard & Ruth Ford Memorial Scholarship.
• Seth Jones ($2,000) – son of Robert and Stacy Jones of Alma, a 2025 South Central HS graduate planning to study agriculture at Kaskaskia College before transferring to Murray State for Ag Business. Seth’s scholarship(s) includes $1,750 from the Marion CFB Foundation and $250 from the Richard & Ruth Ford Memorial Scholarship.
• Audrey Pugh ($1,750) – daughter of Robert and Jennifer Pugh, a 2023 Centralia HS graduate studying Business and Agriculture at Western Illinois University.
• Ellee Bumgarner ($1,500) – daughter of Eydee Bumgarner of Salem, a 2023 Salem HS graduate studying Ag Business and Agronomy/Environmental Science at Kaskaskia College before transferring to Murray State.
• Silas Hill ($1,000) – son of Robert and April Hill of Nashville, a 2024 Nashville HS graduate obtaining his associate’s in science degree from KC before transferring to 4-year college/university.
• Steven McIntosh ($1,000) – son of Bryan and Shelli McIntosh of Salem, a 2025 Salem HS graduate with plans to complete the Applied Diesel Technology associate’s degree at Ranken Technical College.
• Sydney Sherwin ($1,000) – daughter of Paul and Kathy Sherwin of Texico, a 2025 Salem HS graduate with plans to study Livestock Production at Lake Land College.

The Marion CFB Foundation was formed to provide scholarships and other resources for the promotion and education of agriculture.  To-date, the Foundation has awarded 265 scholarships (over $307,000) to over 170 different sons and daughters of Marion County Farm Bureau members.  The Foundation is also actively involved in the county Ag in the Classroom (AITC) program, sponsoring Summer Ag Institute scholarships and classroom project grants for county teachers.

The Marion CFB Foundation is a public charity that is the property of Marion CFB members.  As a public charity, anyone can make tax-deductible contributions to our Foundation.  In fact, we received over $4,000 in contributions from our members alone this past year.  And because of their strong belief in agriculture and the education of American youth, funds for many of these scholarships were made available by donations from the Dorothy & Wilhemine Ratermann Trust.  If you would like to support our efforts with a charitable gift or memorial, contact Brad Conant at the Marion County Farm Bureau office at (618) 548-2100.