CRESTVIEW — The memory of Foy Shaw, the late former mayor and one of the founders of the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce, lives on with an educational scholarship named for the community leader.
Area high school seniors planning to further their studies after graduation may apply for the new $1,000 Foy Shaw Memorial Scholarship.
Shaw, who was passionate about educating area youth, helped establish a Crestview campus for present-day Northwest Florida State College. He served on the college’s scholarship foundation in the 1980s.
“He helped raise a lot of funds for scholarships,” Shaw’s son Craig, who today operates his father’s business, said. “The chamber scholarship is something he would’ve approved of highly to help kids get educated.”
A respected member of the Crestview business community since the 1950s, Foy Shaw founded Shaw Moving & Storage to meet a growing Eglin Air Force Base’s needs.
In 1956, he helped establish the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce. Past chamber President Mike Roy called Shaw “the father of the chamber.”
In 1963, Shaw was elected to the Crestview City Council, serving 11 years before becoming mayor in 1975.
The scholarship named in his memory is one of two the chamber of commerce provides to area youth. The other is a Northwest Florida State College-administered endowment.
“We had been working with the endowment scholarship at the college, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we do another scholarship?’” Scholarship Committee chairperson Pam Meadows said. “Someone suggested naming it for Foy. It was an honor to name the scholarship for him. He was a real patron for so many organizations in our area.”
The Foy Shaw Scholarship is funded by a combination of donations and a “50-50” drawing at the chamber’s monthly breakfasts. Attendees place money in the drawing and the winner splits the total, with half of the funds benefiting the scholarship.
“I don’t think we’ll have any trouble raising the first thousand for the first year, and wouldn’t it be nice if we were able to give two (scholarships) a year?” Meadows said. “I think because it’s the chamber and because it’s Foy, it will be easy to do.”
One of the scholarship’s benefits is that it is not exclusively for students who plan to attend a college or university upon graduating, Meadows said.
“The good thing about this is we’re asking them what kind of institution they want to go to,” she said. “Not every child goes to college. If they want to go to a vocational institution, they will certainly be equally considered.”
“Foy believed very strongly about serving and giving to his community,” the chamber’s scholarship Web page states. “Foy’s contributions and service are still vividly present today and his spirit of generosity will continue with each year’s award of the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce Foy Shaw Memorial Scholarship.”
“I’m proud of that scholarship,” Craig Shaw said. “It’s a good legacy, I think. We keep learning how to do right and be productive even from those who’ve gone on before us.”
Want to apply?
Students who meet the following criteria may apply for the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce’s $1,000 Foy Shaw Memorial Scholarship.
•Applicants must complete and submit the application by March 31.
•Must have education or career plans to enter and study at an accredited post-secondary institution, whether academic or vocational. Scholarship money will be paid to a student school account.
•Must have at least a 2.5 grade point average.
•Award winners must attend a chamber meeting or breakfast to receive the scholarship.
Application is open to any high school senior attending Crestview High, Baker or Laurel Hill schools. Applications will be on the chamber website, www.crestviewchamber.com, and on the schools’ websites.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Chamber of commerce announces Foy Shaw scholarship