TSN Educational Foundation has awarded over $185,000 in scholarships

For more than a quarter of a century, The Sun News Educational Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, has awarded a total of over $185,000 in scholarships to high school seniors of Georgetown and Horry counties, and Brunswick County, N.C. The scholarships are funded by an annual golf tournament, set this year on June 28 at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawleys Island.

The foundation was set up over 30 years ago when Mike Pate was publisher of The Sun News, who was in the position for 19 years. The $6,000 scholarship awarded annually honors the newspaper’s founder Mark and Nancy Garner, according to Peggy Studds of Little River, a member of the foundation board of directors.

The 26th annual golf tournament begins with registration at 7:30 a.m. and a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Sponsorship opportunities are available; only a few spots remain for golfers. A major sponsor ($1,000) for several years is the Father & Son Team Classic. Outback of Murrells Inlet is sponsoring an awards luncheon at Caledonia. The registration fee also includes breakfast, greens and cart fees, team awards and door prizes. Players must have a handicap and will be pre-flighted.

Every year, the foundation also awards three $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors from the three counties. Typically, about 80 seniors apply, submitting essays and recommendations. Then members of SCORE, an organization of retired business executives, select ten finalists. The ten are interviewed by members of the foundation board and the highest ranked receives the Mark and Nancy Garner Leadership Scholarship.

The ten finalists are ranked based on academics, community service and leadership. “It’s a very clean process,” Studds says, with SCORE members selecting the finalists.

“I want to stress that the $6,000 scholarship is given in honor of Mark and Nancy,” Studds says. In addition to the four scholarships to high school seniors, “we have a scholarship for a Horry-Georgetown Technical College student.” The recipient is selected by the college. The foundation also donates money for Coastal Carolina University scholarships through Women in Philanthropy and Leadership.

Beyond the scholarships, the foundation, along with The Sun News, sponsors a regional spelling bee, in which more than 50 Horry and Georgetown county schools participate. Studds notes that the regional winner and the student’s family are provided travel expenses to participate in the national spelling bee competition.

The foundation also has helped purchase items needed for classrooms through DonorsChose.org (teachers post on the website the needed item – for example, a projector) and interested donors may make contributions specifically for that item.

The foundation, Studds points out, “is one way The Sun News gives back to the community.” The annual golf tournament is the foundation’s only fundraiser, so much depends on the success of that event. Sponsors and participants are helping provide college scholarships for outstanding high school seniors.

This story was originally published June 21, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "TSN Educational Foundation has awarded over $185,000 in scholarships."