By Matt de Simone
Troutville Volunteer Fire Department (TVFD) will host its sixth annual golf tournament on Sept. 27 at Ashley Plantation at 11 a.m.
The tournament is a fundraiser put on by TVFD for the annual scholarship fund. Each year, TVFD gives out two $1,000 scholarships to Botetourt County high school seniors who are pursuing higher education in the public safety field.
In a recent interview, TVFD Lt. Jonathan Simmons discussed the tournament’s inception.
“We’ve got several members who knew scholarships for this particular discipline or major are few and far between,” Simmons shared. “Like myself, I went to James Madison (University). I started out in engineering and then got on the fire department and learned about emergency management. There were no scholarships specifically for the emergency management program.
“So, we talked about how to do different types of fundraisers, how to give back to the community that does really good in supporting us, and try to increase volunteerism but also the education in the field for the people that are doing this as a career or on the volunteer side. All of those (discussions) kind of led to (us coming up with a way to) support high school students as they go on and hopefully build themselves better to build the communities they serve better.”
In 2019, the scholarship fund was established. Scholarships are offered to county seniors who plan to pursue First Responder training, degree, or certification after graduation. In addition, First Responders in Botetourt County may apply for financial assistance if enrolled in a two- or four-year First Responder degree program.
TVFD will provide golfers with lunch, all-you-can-eat snacks and beverages of all types, door prizes, a 50/50 drawing, and the top three finishing teams get the prize money back. There will also be demonstrations and information about the department available.
The tournament is close to getting full teams. More importantly, Simmons added that TVFD “strongly needs good applicants” from students so it can continue making the scholarship go to good causes.
If you would like to find out more about the Troutville Volunteer Fire Department Scholarship Fund and other scholarships available to residents of Botetourt County, visit: https://www.cfwesternva.org/for-students/scholarship-listings/.
Sign up for the TVFD 2024 golf tournament by visiting tvfd.org/golf. For more information, call Garry Rock at (540) 354-8966 or email golf@tvfd.org.
