by Morinville News Staff
Two Sturgeon County students, Travis Brenneis and Shawna McLaughlin, received $4,000 in scholarships from County Council this week through the Dale MacMillan Memorial Scholarship.
McLaughlin is a third-year Bachelor of Commerce student at McEwan University and has been active in 4H for the last eight years. She is a frequent community volunteer, donating her time to help events, including highway clean-up and tire and electronic recycling. McLaughlin has also volunteered for Sturgeon County under the Job Experience Training (JET) program.
Brenneis is a fourth-year Bachelor of Kinesiology student who grew up near Villeneuve and has also been involved with maintaining the local rink. He has been a supporter of West Country Hearth for a number of years, performing in musicals that have raised more than $500,000 in 10 years for the organization. He also helped build the facility as one of the volunteers who swept the building, cleaned up the site, picked rocks for the fireplace, and dry-walled the basement.
The Dale MacMillan Memorial Scholarship commemorates Dale MacMillan, who was instrumental in helping achieve a balance between residents and gravel extraction operations in the Calahoo and Villeneuve area. Two Sturgeon County students are chosen every year and each one receives $2,000 toward their post-secondary education. The scholarships are made possible through the Calahoo-Villeneuve Gravel Extraction Community Enhancement Fund.