Three students qualified to receive the first distribution of the Cindy Tanner Memorial Scholarship that was set up by her family for the Spring 2021 Semester. Ethan Lewis, Welding and Joining Technology Student on the Hazlehurst Site, Shonterria Thomas, Practical Nursing student on the Waycross Campus, and Vernonstine Harris, Practical Nursing student on the Waycross campus were the recipients of the scholarship.
Cindy Tanner was the former Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Coastal Pines Technical College, where she served for 25 years before her retirement in 2017. Tanner served tirelessly in her role over the Foundation, starting many fundraisers and events, all in the name of raising monies for technical education students. She not only believed in technical education and the benefits of it but understood the deep impact it made in the communities served by technical college. “Cindy was a true giver. She loved her family, friends, and students that she dealt with through the Foundation. She didn’t believe you should ask people to give monetarily to the Foundation unless she was willing to as well. In true Cindy fashion, she purchased a life insurance policy and named the Foundation as the beneficiary to make sure she continued to provide for the support of technical education students. The family appreciates everyone who has participated through donations to honor Cindy’s wishes. We all wish that we were honoring her wishes much further in the future, but God needed another smiling angel”, stated Cindy’s husband, Tony Tanner.
After Cindy Tanner passed away unexpectedly on February 16, 2020, her family, coworkers and friends set up an Endowment with the Coastal Pines Technical College Foundation; the very Foundation that she ran and grew for many years.
Stephanie Roberts, Director of Institutional Advancement, stated “The selection process of this scholarship was very special, and it was important to the scholarship committee that these were students who exemplified the type of students that Cindy worked her whole career to assist”.
Students must have a minimum 2.5 GPA to qualify for scholarship and can be enrolled in any credited program at the College. Students can apply for the Cindy Tanner Memorial Scholarship each semester at www.coastalpines.edu/apply . Congratulations to these very worthy students.