Ditchman • NUCA of Florida Ditchmen - Sep 2019 | Page 22

ERICKSON AWARDED J. RICHARD BAKER SCHOLARSHIP This year’s recipient of the J. Richard Baker Sr. Award is Ashton Erickson, daughter of Rick Erickson, Beard Equipment Company and Shannon Erickson. Ashton recently graduated from Ponte Vedra High School where she had a class standing of 29 out of 452 students and a GPA of 4.55. While at Ponte Vedra High, Ashton was Editor in Chief of the Tiburon, co-founder and officer of the Young Feminist Club, and Girls Basketball team. In the community, she volunteered at Camp I am Special and at Jacksonville Beach Elementary School, and Tutoring in Spanish, Math, Chemistry and Biology. Ashton will be attending the University of Florida and intends to major in Journalism and Political Science. This award is given to a high school student or high school graduate who is the daughter or son of a NUCANF member company employee, and will be enrolling full or part time in an academic institution of higher education, beginning this summer/ fall. The enrollment may be in any curriculum for any number of years. This may be a four-year college or a community college anywhere in the United States. The J. Richard Baker Scholarship is a $2,000 one-time award. 20 DITCHMEN • SEPTEMBER 2019