Apple Cup Scholarship Presentation

When Cougars and Huskies Battle on the Field - Students Win!  

     While some Cougar and Husky fans were jabbing back and forth with predictions on the anticipated outcome of this year’s Apple Cup football game, the tree fruit industry was taking the opportunity to bolster scholarship coffers at the University of Washington (UW) and Washington State University (WSU).  Students were this year’s big winners!  The Washington Apple Education Foundation made an $8000 donation to the presidents’ scholarship funds at UW and WSU in honor of the cross-state football rivalry.  The annual donation, titled the Apple Cup Scholarship, will be awarded by the Universities to students demonstrating academic excellence and overall merit.
     The scholarship contributions were presented during the UW President’s Pre-Game Reception on November 28th attended by supporters and regents of the universities, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire and several other elected state and national officials.  WAEF Chairman Ruth Pringle and its executive director Jennifer Witherbee made the Apple Cup Scholarship presentation on behalf of the Foundation.  The presentation expressed pride in the industry and its exceptional commitment to education, sharing that it in total the industry’s charity awarded $350,000 in scholarship in 2009, an increase of $100,000 over the prior year.  The two also used the opportunity to thank UW President Mark Emmert and WSU President Elson Floyd for their state-wide leadership in education. 

Photo:  Jennifer Witherbee, Mark Emmert, Ruth Pringle, Christine Gregoire, and Elson Floyd