$10,000.00 in 2008-2009 Lila Parks Scholarship Applications Available

The Hoover Area Chamber’s 2008-2009 Lila Parks Scholarships, started in 1997, will be awarded in May of this year. Click here for application in PDF format. They are also available in the Chamber office.

These scholarships are available to students who meet at least one of the following criteria:  (1) they must be from Hoover; or (2) be a member of the Chamber or an immediate family member of a Chamber member or employee of a Chamber member; or (3) an employee of the City of Hoover or an immediate family member of a City employee.

 The Scholarship Program is named after Lila Parks, the long-time volunteer who ran the Applied Career Education Program (A.C.E.) for high school students for the ten years of its existence virtually by herself.  Lila is still active in the Hoover Chamber, often volunteering to help at the Chamber luncheon, and still serves on the Chamber Education and Scholarship Committee.  She retired in 2004 after a long and successful career as an Allstate Insurance agent.

Scholarships will be restricted to public four-year colleges and universities located within the State of Alabama. Applications are to be turned in to the Chamber office by noon, April 18, 2008.  Anyone wanting more information about these scholarships can call the Chamber at 988-5672.  Students applying can be from any of the area schools, including all public and private schools, but must meet at least one of the criteria listed above.

$10,000.00 in 2007-2008 Lila Parks Scholarship Applications Available

The Hoover Chamber's 2007-2008 Lila Parks Scholarships, started in 1997, will be awarded in May of this year. Applications are available in the Chamber office.

These scholarships are available to students who meet at least one of the following criteria:
(1) they must be from Hoover; or
(2) be a member of the Chamber or an immediate family member of a Chamber member or employee of a Chamber member; or
(3) an employee of the City of Hoover or an immediate family member of a City employee.

The Scholarship Program is named after Lila Parks, the long-time volunteer who ran the Applied Career Education Program (A.C.E.) for high school students for the ten years of its existence virtually by herself. Lila is still active in the Hoover Chamber, often volunteering to help at the Chamber luncheon, and still serves on the Chamber Education and Scholarship Committee.

She retired in 2004 after a long and successful career as an Allstate Insurance agent. Scholarships will be restricted to public four-year colleges and universities located within the State of Alabama. Applications are to be turned in to the Chamber office by noon, May 4, 2007. Anyone wanting more information about these scholarships can call the Chamber at 988-5672. Students applying can be from any of the area schools, including all public and private schools, but must meet at least one of the criteria listed above.


Aiding in Education

Chamber's Scholarship Program Benefits Students

In May 2006, the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce awarded Lila Parks Scholarships to six deserving students. The first five winners each received a $2000 award while the sixth received $1,000 contributed by the Alabama Directory Company specifically for an extra scholarship.

The students were selected based on scholastic achievement, extra-curricular activities and financial need. Scholarship rules require that recipients reside in Hoover, be a family member of a City of Hoover employee or be a family member of a Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce member. Recipients must be planning to attend a four-year public or state supported college or university in Alabama.

The scholarships are named in honor of longtime Chamber member, Lila Parks, who served as the coordinator for the Chamber's Applied Career Education (ACE) program for high schoolup0 students. The program was discontinued in 2003, the same year Parks decided to close her business and retire.

For nine years, the program afforded many Hoover high school students graded hands-on work experiences through job shadowing opportunities. Throughout the program's exis-tence, Parks worked diligently to encourage businesses to take part and to match students to positions in their areas of interest. During its final year, 120 businesses participated.

Head of the Chamber's scholarship committee is Joe Primm. Other committee members include scholarship namesake Lila Parks, Dan Ellis of Absolute Mortgage, Kathleen Spencer of the Wynfrey Hotel and guidance counselor Ellie Jackson of Hoover High School.

Pictured from left to right
The recipients were:

Stephen Powell
of Hoover High School, who will attend the University Alabama and major in biology;

Mary Nell Coleman
a repeat winner who is majoring in pre-med at Alabama;

Christin Byars
of Spain Park High School, who is planning to study the classics at Alabama;

Melissa Smith
of Hayden High School, who will be entering Alabama's nursing program (her parents work for the City of Hoover);

Kristin Coker
of Spain Park High School, who will be a communications major at the University of South Alabama, and

Nicholas Boyd
of Spain Park High School, a saxophonist who will study jazz at Alabama. Nicholas was the recipient of the extra scholarship.

2005 CHAMBER SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Five winners of the Hoover Chamber $2,000.00 Lila Parks Scholarships were recognized by Committee Chairman Joe Primm at the May Luncheon. Shown l-r are Adam Hollifield from Spain Park, going to UAB as a Business Major; George Guarino of Hoover High, going to Alabama as a Business major; Mary Nell Coleman of Hoover High, going to Alabama as a Pre-Med major; Deivid Delgado, of Hoover High, going to West Alabama on full 4-year scholarship as an Accounting major; and Joe Primm of the UAB Small Business Development Center, who chairs the Education and Scholarship Committee. Not shown (or attending) was Rebecca Anne Mathews of Hoover High, going to Alabama as Business/Graphic Design major. Some 47 detailed applications were received for the five scholarships, totaling $10,000.00. Other committee members who worked diligently to review these applications and determine the winners were Lila Parks, for whom the scholarships were named.

Joe Primm, MBA of the UAB Small Business Development Center, chaired the Scholarship Committee again this year.

This year the Hoover Chamber received a record number of applications for the Lila Parks Scholarship Program --- almost 45 applications in all! The committee worked very hard, with each committee member spending several hours studying the applications, in order to determine which students would be awarded the funds. According to Committee Chairman Joe Primm of the UAB Small Business Development Center, "Making these decisions can only be described as wrenching!"

Serving with Joe on the 2005 Scholarship Committee were Lila Parks, for whom the Chamber Scholarship Program is named; Susan Webb of Susan Webb Designs; Ambassador and Golf Committee Chair Dan Ellis of Absolute Mortgage; RealtySouth Realtor Warren Fravert; and Don Wiggins, GM for Riverchase Galleria Office Towers.
Although most of the applicants were deserving of financial aid, and several had applied for other scholarships, there was only funding available to provice five $2,000.00 scholarships. These fine students were measured and graded in four paticular categories, including extracurricular activities, leadership, academic achievements, and financial need. Each of the recipients met and exceeded the standards the committee used. We are confident that each of these students will prove to be excellent choices.

These winners, in alphabetical order, are: Mary Nell Coleman of Hoover High who plans to attend the University of Alabama this Fall as a pre-med student; Deivid Delgado, also from Hoover High, who plans to attend the University of West Alabama to study accounting. Also from Hoover High is George Guarino, who will attend Alabama and study Business.
The next winner, Adam Hollifield, is from Spain Park High School and plans to attend UAB to pursue a Business degree. Our final scholarship goes to Rebecca Matthews of Hoover High. She will attend Alabama and study Business and Graphic Design.

All five of these students have been notified by letter, and have been invited as our guests to the May 26 Hoover Chamber Luncheon at Hoover Country Club, along with their parents.

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In May 2004, the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce awarded $1, 000 Lila Parks Scholarships to five deserving students.
The students were selected based on scholastic achievement, extra-curricular activities and financial need. Scholarship rides require that recipients reside in Hoover, be a family member of a City of Hoover employee or be a family member of a Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce member. Recipients must be planning to att nd a four-year public or private college or university in Alabama.

"The committee had a very difficult time deciding on who to award these scholarships to this year," said Joe Primm, head of the Lila Parks Scholarship Committee. "There were so many qualified and deserving applicants."

The scholarships are named in honor of longtime Chamber member, Lila Parks, who served as the coordinator for the Chamber's Applied Career Education (ACE) program for high school students. The program was discontinued in 2003, the same year Parks decided to close her business and retire.

For nine years, the program afforded many Hoover high school students graded hands-on work experiences through job shadowing opportunities. Throughout the program's existence, Ms. Parks worked diligently to encourage businesses to take part and to match students to positions in their areas of interest. During its final year, 120 businesses participated.

Congratulations to the 2004 winners of the Lila Parks Scholarships!

The Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce recently recognized five winners of the Lila Parks Scholarships at their monthly luncheon. The winners of the five $1000.00 scholarships are, left to right, Drew Humphries of Pelham High School, attending Auburn; Natalie McCurdy of Brianwood Christian, attending UAB, Natalie Boone of Hoover High, attending Alabama, Chamber Education Chair Joe Primm of UABs Small Business Development Center; Ryan "Smitty " Weldon, of Spain Park High, attending Auburn; and Argie Maria Lafakis of Hoover High, attending Alabama.