Suffolk News-Herald

Seven students received scholarships totaling $5,700 from The Suffolk Connection Inc.

Scholarship coordinator Lelia Bell-Manley, and the president, Frank R. Kahan Jr., presented congratulatory letters to students at Nansemond River and Lakeland high school’s awards ceremonies. Bell-Manley coordinated the program with the assistance of Suffolk high school counselors.

The scholarships were given in memory of the following deceased members of the organization: Brenda C. Bell, Edna Boone Savage, Marvis Walltower Milteer, Betty C. Schubrisk, and Dwight Carlton Ricks.

A scholarship is named in the honor of a living member, Joyce A. Artis, who is a personal contributor to the Joyce A. Artis Honors Scholarship.

Nansemond River recipients and the amount of their scholarships are as follows:

— Ansonia S. Gandy, $1,200, the Brenda C. Bell Memorial Scholarship. Gandy is attending the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond majoring in art history.

— Jennifer D. Jiggetts, $1,000, the Betty C. Schubrisk Memorial Scholarship. Jiggetts is attending Norfolk State University in Norfolk majoring in journalism.

— Terry N. Daughtry, $1,000, the Dwight Carlton Ricks Memorial Scholarship. Daughtry is attending Hampton University in Hampton majoring in physical therapy.

— Alfred Gamble, $500, the Edna Boone Savage and Marvis Walltower Milteer Memorial Scholarship. Gamble is attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg majoring in business.

— Nakiesha D. Bridgers, $500, the Edna Boone Savage and Marvis Walltower Milteer Memorial Scholarship. Bridgers is attending Virginia State University in Petersburg majoring in veterinarian medicine.

Lakeland recipients and the amount of their scholarships are as follows:

— Erika L. Dobbins, $500, the Boone Savage and Marvis Walltower Milteer Memorial Scholarship. Dobbins is attending Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond majoring in pre-physical therapy.

— LaToya O. Edmonds, $1,000, the Joyce A. Artis Honors Scholarship, Edmonds is attending the University of Virginia in Charlottesville majoring in English.

The Suffolk Connection Inc. was founded in 1991 after the death of Brenda C. Bell, a 1965 graduate of East Suffolk High School. Classmates who attended her funeral wanted to meet and greet at occasions other than funerals and that is when the decision was made to form the organization.

The Suffolk Connection has made donations to the Nub-Jones Nursing Home, Suffolk Rescue Squad, Pleasant Hill Cemetery Association, Camp Heavenly Waters, Suffolk Blazers AAW Nationals, Sharon Knight Fund, financial support the student’s golf expenses and other worthy causes over the last 12 years.