Old Lyme Chamber Announces Scholarship Recipient

From Lyme Chamber of Commerce: The Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Olivia Ellis of Lyme has been selected as the 2017 recipient of the Chamber’s Business Leadership Senior Scholarship. Olivia will attend Eastern Connecticut State University in the fall.

The Chamber also selected Sophie Christiano of Old Lyme to receive a Special Award in recognition of her service to the community through her work with the Lyme-Old Lyme Volunteer Connection. Sophie will attend Wellesley University, Mass., in the fall.

Unfortunately both students had out of state commitments on the evening of June 21st when the Chamber’s Annual Meeting was held at the Old Lyme Country Club. Both have been invited to attend a Chamber meeting later in the summer or fall, when they can be acknowledged in person by Chamber members and Olivia will be presented with a State Proclamation.

The Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber established the N. Rutherford Sheffield Memorial Award for Entrepreneurial Promise & Achievement for Lyme-Old Lyme High School juniors in 1999 as a way to honor a man who was not only a member of the Chamber for over 50 years but also a very active and highly regarded member of the Lyme-Old Lyme community.

More than 30 juniors at Lyme-Old Lyme High School (LOLHS) were recognized through this program. This year the Chamber instituted a new program to honor Mr. Sheffield and the Chamber’s Scholarship Committee wishes to express its appreciation to LOLHS teachers Leslie Traver, current chair of the Business Department, and Dr. Joanne Hedwall, former chair, for working with them to set up this new program.

With their support, the Chamber established the N. Rutherford Sheffield Business Student of the Month Award to continue the Chamber tradition of recognizing members of the junior class for demonstrating outstanding initiative in and out of the classroom.

The Chamber hopes this award inspires the Business Students of the Month to continue developing the skills they are learning through their business courses. The students will also be able to list this award on college applications in senior year.

The Chamber’s 2017 Business Students of the Month were LOLHS Juniors Amanda Marsh, Reed Spitzer and Cole Hamparian, all of whom were invited to attend the Chamber’s Annual Dinner Meeting. Cole and Reed were able to attend and spoke eloquently about their achievements to date in the LOLHS Business Department.

The efforts of Traver and Hedwall were acknowledged with awards from the Chamber acknowledging their outstanding support of the Chamber’s programs over many years. Traver was present at the dinner to receive her award but Hedwall had another commitment and will be presented with her award at a later date.

The Chamber was especially pleased that both State Senator Paul Formica (R-20th) and State Representative Devin Carney (R-23rd) came to the meeting and joined in the award presentations. Gabriel Barclay, who was a 2016 winner of the Chamber’s Business Leadership Senior Scholarship, was also at the dinner and spoke of the major influence that winning the award had played on his choice to declare business as his major at Georgetown University, Washington, DC, where he has just finished his freshman year.

The Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce Scholarship program has awarded over $33,000 in scholarships and grants to more than 50 local students since its inception. The Chamber Scholarship Fund is supported through donations to CMRK clothing donation bins located in Lyme and Old Lyme: at the Lyme Firehouse, behind The Bowerbird, at 151 Boston Post Rd., and on Rte. 156 at Shoreline Mowers.

The Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Committee comprises Russ Gomes (Co-Chair), Olwen Logan (Co-Chair), Katie Balocca, Rosemary Barclay, Jane Cable, and Cathy Frank.

For more information about the Lyme-Old Lyme Chamber, visit www.visitoldlyme.com.

Image Courtesy of Old Lyme Chamber