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National’s general manager Brent J. Roggie presented Welch’s/National Grape Cooperative Scholarships to three students from Chautauqua County who will be attending SUNY Fredonia this fall. From left to right are Lianna LeBarron, Mr. Roggie, Hillary Barger and Nate Schroeder.

Hillary Barger of Westfield, Lianna LeBarron of Westfield, and Nate Schroeder of Ripley are this year’s winners of the Welch’s/National Grape Cooperative Scholarship at SUNY Fredonia. Each student will receive $1,000.

Since 1996, Welch's has offered annual scholarships through the Fredonia College Foundation to children and grandchildren of Welch's and National Grape Cooperative employees and members who live in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Ontario, Canada.

Ms. Barger will enter SUNY Fredonia this fall as a junior majoring in Speech and Language Disabilities. She graduated from Westfield High School in 2004, and subsequently majored in liberal arts at Jamestown Community College, where she graduated with honors and an associate’s degree in December 2006. Her long term goals are to complete a master’s degree and serve public school children as a speech pathologist. She is the daughter of National Grape member Patricia and Donald E. Barger, Jr. of Westfield.

Ms. LeBarron has a passion for the English language and will begin a bachelor’s degree program in English and adolescence education at SUNY Fredonia this fall. A June 2007 graduate of Westfield High School, she is the daughter of Edward and Deborah LeBarron of Westfield, and the granddaughter of retired Welch’s employee Joyce Christ.

Entering Fredonia State as a junior this fall, Mr. Schroeder is majoring in English and minoring in communications. The son of Lisa and John Clicquennoi of Ripley, Mr. Schroeder is the grandson of National Grape Cooperative member Gordon Degolier. He previously attended Keuka College where he majored in English. His long term goals include working for a marketing or advertising agency and writing fiction.

The Welch’s/National Grape Cooperative Scholarships are funded through a self-sustained endowment established in the Fredonia College Foundation in 1987 by gifts from Welch's on behalf of National Grape Cooperative and Welch's families.

“Quite some time ago Welch’s established an endowment fund. In 1996, the endowment became self-funding and without further investment, each year we are able to offer these scholarships to the families of our employees and growers,” said Brent Roggie, National Grape Cooperative’s general manager and chief operating officer. “Supporting education in the communities where our employees and growers live and work has been a Welch’s tradition. Providing a quality education has long been a SUNY Fredonia tradition. We’re excited about providing these scholarships and helping to build upon both traditions,” Mr. Roggie added.

Welch's, National Grape Cooperative’s processing and marketing subsidiary, is the world’s leading provider of Concord and Niagara grape-based products, including grape juice and jelly. The company also produces a variety of other fruit-based products, including 100 percent juices and juice cocktails. National Grape is headquartered in Westfield, N.Y., where Welch’s operates a processing facility.