Local students will be awarded by The Lions Club
By: Matt Kirdahy
The Cranbury Lions Club has one loan, one award and two new scholarships to give to students in Cranbury this year.
Students can apply for the Lions Club School Loan and the Dr. David C. Tudor and Todd M. Beamer memorial scholarships, but must be nominated for the Stan Thomas Community Service Award.
The gifts are open only to Cranbury students.
Bob Virgadamo, president of the Cranbury Lions, said the Lions Club School Loan is a $1,500 interest-free loan that can go toward any educational program after high school.
The $250 Stan Thomas Community Service Award is given each year to one Cranbury student between 12 and 18 years old who exhibits what the Lions call "the spirit of community service that Stan Thomas showed through his lifetime as a resident of Cranbury."
"Anyone can nominate a student," Mr. Virgadamo said. "Even their own parents."
The Dr. David Tudor and Todd M. Beamer memorial scholarships require students to apply. Each will be awarded to a high school senior.
Mr. Beamer was a passenger on the United Airlines Flight 93 hijacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. The Boeing 757 crashed in Pennsylvania.
Mr. Virgadamo said the Todd M. Beamer applicants also must display the same "citizenship" qualities as the Stan Thomas Award nominee. The scholarship awards the student with $1,500 for tuition costs.
The recipient of the Dr. David Tudor scholarship must continue his or her education at an accredited science program, Mr. Virgadamo said. The scholarship awards the student with $1,000 for tuition costs.
Dr. Tudor was known to many in the community as "Doc," according to Mr. Virgadamo.
"Dr. Tudor was an involved and dedicated member of the community," he said. "He was also a part of some interesting veterinary research in his career.
"This is the first year for both the Dr. David C. Tudor and Todd M. Beamer memorial scholarships," Mr. Virgadamo said. "The money was issued in a bequest to the Lions for the Tudor scholarship, but the Beamer scholarship is funded by left-over money from the memorial service dedication that was held last year."
All applications must be in by April 15. The Lions board of directors will vote on the nominees in May.
Winners will receive the monetary value of each award and a plaque with their name embossed in it.
The applications and nominations should be sent to the Lions, care of the Scholarship/Award and Selection Committee, P.O. Box 365, Cranbury, NJ 08512.

