Eric Hussey Scholarship winner named
By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
A Blaine Hill Volunteer Fire Company volunteer is this year’s recipient of the Eric Hussey Memorial Scholarship.
Travis Evans, 18, will receive the “Gift From Eric” after being selected as the most improved senior among the 2020 graduates of Elizabeth Forward High School.
“I was nominated for it by a teacher,” Evans said. “I’ve heard about it and heard about people getting it, but I never expected to get it. It’s a blessing. I’m honored to get this scholarship.”
Evans will use the $3,700 scholarship toward the cost of attending a trade school for either diesel technology or welding. The amount was set by Cindy Balko in honor of her son, who was killed in a car accident in 2016, shortly after graduating from Elizabeth Forward. Balko said her son’s dirt bike racing number was 37.
“Three months after his death, I knew I had to do something to remember my son,” Balko said.
She established a nonprofit organization that raises the funds given out in the scholarship each year. She also takes a personal interest in the selection of each year’s winner, reviewing the candidates proposed by a committee of teachers and staff at the high school.
“I didn’t just want to read an essay, I wanted to meet these kids and hear their stories,” Balko said.
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