Centralia BPW Awards Scholarships and Community Donations
The 2026/2027 Centralia BPW Education Foundation Scholarship recipients were announced at the May general meeting of Centralia BPW. Presenting the awards was member of the Foundation Cathy Karrick. A total of $7,500 was awarded with each recipient receiving $1,250.
Awards were presented to:
High school graduate award: Ava Meier, Centralia High – will be attending University of Tennessee majoring in Aerospace Engineering; Evan Beal, Christ Our Rock High – will be attending Kansas State University, studying Animal Science.
Under Graduate category: Manuela Maco – 2026 Kaskaskia College graduate will be attending SIUE majoring in Bio Chemistry; Aubri Thompson - is attending SIUE majoring in Biological Sciences.
25 and over category: Laynee Timmons, nurse at Deaconess IL Crossroads Hospital - pursuing a degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner; Jessica Schmidt-Snow – Attending McKendree University pursing BA in Special Education.
The Centralia BPW Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) with all funds collected used for awarding scholarships and offering educational functions was established in 2024. Donations can be made by making payable to Centralia BPW Education Foundation and mailed to P.O. Box 502, Centralia, IL 62801.
Also during the May meeting, a donation was presented to Al Simmons of the Centralia American Legion Post 446 for the use of their facility for various BPW events and also to The Calumet Christian Church as a thank you for allowing the club to conduct meetings at their church.