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GREY FOX BILL VERNON
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

Bill Vernon
Bill Vernon
Photo by Barrett Bacal

The Grey Fox Bill Vernon Scholarship is awarded annually to talented and motivated students who are involved in bluegrass music and who demonstrate a need for financial assistance. Past recipients of the scholarship include Casey Henry, Bill Evans, Kristin Scott (Benson), Meredith McCoury, Jamie Stone, Rushad Eggleston, Amanda Kowalski, Joe Walsh, Etienne Cremieux and several other gifted students.

The Grey Fox Scholarship is named for the late Bill Vernon, the Virginia based radio personality, writer, bluegrass aficionado, and long-time emcee and friend of our festival. We miss you, Bill!

This annual scholarship program is made possible, in large part, through the generous donations of custom instrument builders such as Stelling Banjos, Martin Guitars, Eastman Strings, Collings Guitars and Deering Banjos, who provide beautiful instruments to be raffled during the festival. We also thank the many individuals, families and organizations who have donated to the fund over the years to help keep the scholarship going.

Molly Adkins and Jonathan Demers Are 2011 Scholarship Winners

After much listening, reading and discussion, the Grey Fox Educational Fund Committee is pleased to announce the 2011 recipients of the Grey Fox–Bill Vernon Memorial Scholarship. They are Molly Adkins and Jonathan Demers.

Molly Adkins (18) is from Salem, Oregon. A high school senior, she plays guitar and sings with The Bluegrass Regulators, a band that will be showcasing at IBMA World of Bluegrass in Nashville, TN this fall. She plans to attend Pacific Lutheran University.

Jonathan Demers (24) hails from East Hampton, Connecticut and has been accepted at Berklee College of Music. Jonathan plays mandolin, guitar and acoustic bass with the band, Amy Gallatin and Stillwaters.

We would like everyone to know that the reviewing process was especially difficult this year because of the many gifted, talented and motivated candidates.

 

The Application Process:

Current college students or high school seniors who have been accepted at a college may apply. If selected, your scholarship will be sent directly to your educational institution.

Click to download the scholarship application

DEADLINE: The application (including a required essay and optional music sample) must be postmarked no later than May 15. Decisions will be made by June 15. Please mail your application package to:

Grey Fox Scholarship Committee

c/o Mary Tyler Doub
2704 Caves Road
Owings Mills, MD 21117

SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTATION: If you are one of the fortunate recipients, you will be invited to attend Grey Fox as a guest of the festival. Awards will be presented on the Main Stage on Sunday afternoon of the festival. We hope you will be able to attend both the festival and the presentation.

DONATING TO THE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM: The Grey Fox Educational Fund is a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving bluegrass music through education. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to this program, please mail check made out to "Grey Fox Educational Fund" to:
       Grey Fox Educational Fund
       c/o Lucia Sperato
       705 York Road
       Baltimore, MD 21204

And, please indicate on the memo line that your donation is for the Grey Fox Scholarship. Thank you!

If you have any questions, call 1.888.946.8495; 315.724.4473 or email us.

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