Slanesville Couple Instrumental at FSU

Haddon “Joe” and Martha “Marty” Rhodes of Slanesville have been instrumental in bringing about a partnership between Fairmont State University and the Ruritan National Foundation, a civic and philanthropic organization headquartered in Dublin, Va. Through this partnership, the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. will fully match up to five Ruritan National scholarships annually for students attending Fairmont State.

“Marty and Joe introduced the Foundation Board to the Ruritan program,” said Fairmont State Foundation Executive Director Jean Ahwesh. “In addition to their own endowed scholarships at Fairmont State, they continue to find ways to support student scholarships. We are so blessed to have them as a part of the Fairmont State community.”

Marty Rhodes is actively involved in the Slanesville Ruritan club. The Rhodeses have established three endowed scholarships through the Fairmont State Foundation. Joe Rhodes serves on Fairmont State’s Presidents’ Leadership Council.

“The Foundation is excited about this opportunity to join with the Ruritans to provide additional assistance to deserving Fairmont State students,” said Bud Ford, chair of the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc., Scholarship Committee. “This match is a great benefit for these students, whose $600 Ruritan scholarship will turn into a $1,200 scholarship at Fairmont State.”

Nell Jeffries, Ruritan Foundation president, will meet with Ford on Thursday, March 20, at Fairmont State’s Erickson Alumni Center to sign the contract of partnership.

The scholarship selection process begins with local Ruritan civic clubs, which choose students to compete for a Ruritan National scholarship grant. Students who receive this scholarship are then eligible to receive a full match to the scholarship through the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. upon meeting admission requirements.

The Ruritan National Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Ruritan National, a coalition of Ruritan civic clubs in rural areas and small towns. The foundation concentrates on helping students fund education beyond high school and on helping victims of disasters.

Ruritan civic club members represent a cross section of a community’s population and seek to make each local community a better place in which to live. For more information on Ruritan or Ruritan National scholarships, contact Ruritan National at (877) 787-8727.

The mission of the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc. is to support, through ethical stewardship, the mission of Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College of FSU. The Foundation identifies, establishes and cultivates meaningful relationships with Fairmont State alumni and potential and existing funding constituencies to meet contributor needs while securing funds and supporters for priority objectives identified by the Board of Governors.

For more information about this and other scholarship opportunities at the Fairmont State, contact Jean Ahwesh, executive director, Fairmont State Foundation, Inc.