Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Each year, the Monticello-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce offers a leadership class for high school students with the aim of imparting skills and a mindset for being a person of importance in one's community. This year when students graduated from the program (see separate story), the Chamber chose three participants to be the first recipients of the newly established Judson Freeman Memorial Scholarship.
“Judson Freeman was a young man who grew up in our community,” said Floyd Faglie in preparing to award the scholarships.
Faglie explained that last year he had approached the Freeman family about supporting the Chamber's leadership class in memory of Judson's interest in youth activities in the Monticello community, and they became a financial sponsor for the Chamber's 2024-25 leadership class. The Freemans later shared that Judson's former employer, ISF, Inc., was interested in contributing as well. As it turned out, the company matched donations from ISF team members, raising $17,600 to add to the family's starter donation of $1,500.
When presenting the contribution at the Chamber's annual Christmas party in 2024, ISF Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Conrad said, “It's really an honor for us to be able to do this. We support Judson's passion. We believe in building leaders. We believe in giving opportunities to our youth. We think it's an amazing program, so we are more than happy to be a part of this... We hope to continue to be a part of this in the future. This is a great way to show our care for Judson.”
The recipients, named on May 6, were three participants in the leadership class who, Faglie said, had gone above and beyond what was expected. Lena Sullivan, Lily Hall and Dalton Demott each received a $500 scholarship in Judson Freeman's memory. The Chamber expects to award these scholarships in future years as well.