LETHBRIDGE, AB – Lethbridge Exhibition Park and the Rotary Club of Lethbridge East announced the recipient of the 2019 $10,000 AG Scholarship at a sold out dinner in Heritage Hall at Ag Expo on Thursday night. The 2019 recipient is Lauren Machacek. Lauren is from the Taber area and is a 4th year student student at the University of Lethbridge.
“The amount of time and work it takes to develop a scholarship, especially one of this size, is remarkable. I want to thank Exhibition Park, Rotary Club of Lethbridge East, the founding sponsors, and the scholarship committee for making it happen” stated Machacek. “I am absolutely honored to be the first time winner of this Agricultural Scholarship. This scholarship will not only open doors as far as education, careers, and professional development but comes with a significant amount of support from our local community, which I am very thankful for. I am proud to call Southern Alberta my home and proud to be part of our local agriculture community. I can’t wait to see where this will take me in the years to come and cannot thank the sponsors and Ag community enough for their investment in local students and the future of agriculture.”
“The Lethbridge East Rotary Club has been talking about doing a scholarship with a focus on agriculture for a number of years. At the District level we support scholarships nationally and internationally for Rotary International priorities, but we also recognize importance of agriculture in southern Alberta,” says Wayne Lindwall, Committee Scholarship Chair, and Assistant District Governor of Rotary. “We debated the value of the scholarship as well, but we wanted something that was significant to in relation to other scholarships. We weren’t aware of any that were valued at $10,000 for undergraduates in agriculture and we thought that this project would attract some good candidates. “We were looking for someone with scholastic achievement, but more importantly we want candidates who are our future leaders in agriculture and good ambassadors for the agriculture sector and Rotary.”
Rudy Friesen, CEO of Exhibition Park stated “we are pleased to be a partner with Rotary East and thank the founding sponsors of this inaugural event. Agricultural is integrated into our history and culture of Exhibition Park and we congratulate Lauren on her award and as well continue to further the importance of agricultural message to Southern Alberta.”
For further information contact: Rudy Friesen, CEO, Exhibition Park 403 – 328 – 4491
Wayne Lindwall, Committee Scholarship Chair & Assistant District Governor, Rotary Club of Lethbridge East 403 – 388 – 4253
Lauren Machacek AG Scholarship Recipient 403 – 331 – 0903
Lauren Machacek – 2019 Rotary Exhibition Park $10,000 Ag Scholar Recipient
Lauren is a 4th year, post diploma, student at the U of L working towards her Bachelors degree (2020) in Finance with a focus in Agriculture Management. Lauren started her post-secondary education at Lethbridge College and after receiving her Marketing Diploma transferred to the U of L to focus on her passion for Agribusiness. She grew up on a mixed farm near Taber, where her love for agriculture began. She credits her leadership skills and commitment to the ag community to her 9 years of 4H experience. Lauren learned how to show and judge animals at various exhibitions around the province. Through 4H, Lauren also developed her organizational and public speaking skills which helped prepare her for the challenges of a demanding academic program at the University of Lethbridge. She has stayed connected with the Ag community by serving on the executive committees of both the Aggies Club and Business Club on campus. For the last three summers, Lauren worked for the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation as customer service representative and crop insurance adjuster. Lauren has received several scholarships and Deans List awards for her outstanding academic achievements. She also excelled in the practicum Cor Van Raay Case competitions in 2017 and 2018. Lauren wants to stay involved in farming and livestock production but she is also considering furthering her studies through a Masters of Business Administration (MBA). Learn more
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