Vicar’s Landing awards 104 scholarships to employees

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Vicar's Landing presented 104 employees of the retirement community with scholarships totaling $290,750 at a special ceremony held on Saturday, May 19, continuing an annual tradition of generosity that has been ongoing for 24 years.

“All of this was started by a dedicated group of members in 1994 who wanted to ensure Vicar’s employees in every department had the opportunity to improve their education,” said Bill Tickle, chair of the Vicar’s Landing Scholarship Committee, at the event held in the community’s auditorium. “None of this would occur without the generous help of our members’ and their families’ support in contribution to the scholarship fund.”

The 104 Vicar’s employees, who work across the community’s departments, received awards up to $2,500 to pay for courses and programs that will help them advance their careers. 15 Special Awards established by the generosity of individual Vicar’s members were also presented to employees at the ceremony. In addition to Tickle, Vicar’s Landing CEO Bruce Jones and Vicar’s Landing Membership Association President Bob Hood presented the awards.

Previous scholarship award winner Andrew Faus spoke at the ceremony about the impact of Vicar’s and the scholarships on his life. He served and bartended at the retirement community and worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in the Health Center. Over the course of his tenure at Vicar’s, Faus received $19,000 in scholarship awards, which he said accounted for approximately 75 percent of his undergraduate studies.

“After lifeguarding in the summer and then getting a job here at Vicar’s Landing, I developed a passion for first aid and medicine,” said Faus. “The people at Vicar’s Landing helped me turn this passion into a career, which is something I owe a lot of thanks to the scholarship committee and the people of Vicar’s Landing themselves.”

Next month, Faus will begin his medical doctorate and master’s degree in public health at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.

Since the scholarship program began at Vicar’s Landing in 1994, more than $4 million has been awarded to employees. The community’s annual Boutique, which consists of a sale of members’ treasures and furnishings, and other fundraising projects contribute to the program's efforts.