Pictured are (front row, from the left) Rayni Rister and Finley Foster, Paulding and Van Wert county winners (back row) Morgan Anspach, Hayden Mullen, and Megan Mosier. Missing from the picture is Sydnee Sinn. (Photo submitted)
Pictured are (front row, from the left) Rayni Rister and Finley Foster, Paulding and Van Wert county winners (back row) Morgan Anspach, Hayden Mullen, and Megan Mosier. Missing from the picture is Sydnee Sinn. (Photo submitted)
VAN WERT — The Western Buckeye Educational Service Center hosted the Franklin B. Walter Scholarship Program on March 8 at Vantage Career Center. The individual district winners from Paulding County are Antwerp High School - Rayni Rister - county winner, Paulding High School - Hayden Mullen, and Wayne Trace High School - Sydnee Sinn and from Van Wert County: Crestview High School - Megan Mosier, Lincolnview High School - Morgan Anspach, and Van Wert High School - Finley Foster - county winner.

As county winners, Rayni Rister and Finley Foster both received $500 scholarships from the Western Buckeye ESC. The rest of the students received $100 scholarships for being selected as their district representative. Rayni Rister and Finley Foster will both be recognized at an awards luncheon in Columbus in April hosted by the Ohio Educational Service Center Association (OESCA).

In the application for the Franklin B. Walter Scholarship, each of the students was asked to name the educator who had the greatest impact on his/her educational career. For Morgan Anspach from Lincolnview High School, that teacher was Rachel Rohrs. For Finley Foster from Van Wert High School, that teacher was Kathy Fleming (retired). For Megan Mosier from Crestview High School, that teacher was Grace Callow.

The Western Buckeye ESC thanks the following businesses and individuals for contributing to this awards program: Avangrid Renewables, EDP Renewables, the United Way of Van Wert County, Jan Kohart, Thomas Taylor and an anonymous local foundation.