On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA December 2016 - January 2017 | Page 17

GWA Foundation Earning What Scholarship Applications You’re Worth Deadline December 20 BY C.L. FORNARI T PHOTO COURTESY C.L. FORNARI BY A S H L E Y H O DA K S U L L I VA N he GWA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable partner of the GWA: The Association for Garden Communicators, continues its commitment to provide financial assistance to deserving students who wish to pursue or further a career in horticultural communications. This year’s scholarship awards will range from $250 to $2,000 per student and include a complimentary one-year membership to GWA. Students must be enrolled in one of two categories: COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS The GWA Foundation Kathleen Fisher Memorial Scholarship is made in recognition of Kathleen Fisher, who was the editor of The American Gardener, the journal of the American Horticultural Society. It is given annually in the amount of $500 to any fullor part-time, post-secondary student—including technical schools and community colleges—who is majoring in horticulture, plant science or journalism and has an interest in garden communication. COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES GWA Foundation general scholarship grants are provided for college-level juniors or seniors enrolled as full-time students majoring in horticulture, plant science or journalism, who have an interest in garden communication, including garden photography. General scholarships are given annually and vary in number—two to six—and amount—$250 to $2,000—depending on the earnings of the scholarship endowment. It is beneficial for horticulture or plant science majors to have taken courses in journalism and vice-versa, although exceptions will be made. In recent years, more than $90,000 has been awarded to outstanding students. Grants range from $250 to over $2,000 per student at the discretion of the GWA Foundation Board of Directors. At a minimum, one $500 scholarship will be given under the GWA Foundation’s Kathleen Fisher Memorial Scholarship. Scholarships will be awarded directly to the institutions on behalf of students. For questions, please contact Ashley Hodak Sullivan, GWA Foundation Executive Director, at [email protected] or 212-297-2198. Application deadline Tuesday, December 20, 2016 View the full scholarship guideline and criteria here. Monica Hemingway prompted GWA members attending New England Grows to think about the strategic purpose of their online presence. Those who attended the Region 1 meeting at New England Grows in early December were delighted by Monica Hemingway’s seminar. The title of her morning-long presentation was Building an Online Presence That Gets Meaningful Results. Frankly, she had her audience’s full attention with the subtitle: Stop Focusing on Exposure and Start Earning What You’re Worth. Hemingway spoke about how most of us plunge into our online presence without thinking. We jump onto Facebook or start a blog without being clear about where our focus really should be. She encouraged everyone to ask themselves the following questions and answer honestly. • • • • Why are you a garden communicator? Why are you in business? What are your business goals? (Think 12 months out.) Who are your customers? Hemingway suggested that after you’ve answered those questions that you list everything you’re doing online (emails, social networking, your website and blog) and ask yourself if those things are supporting your business goals. After that thought-provoking introduction, attendees were lead through various ways that they could sharpen their game when it comes to their online presence. DOWNLOAD THE 2017 SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION 17