The Distinguished Raven FAC Memorial Scholarship
1. General. The Distinguished Raven FAC Memorial Scholarship is a $1000 award presented annually to a qualifying descendent of a Lao or Lao-Hmong individual who served in the Royal Laotian Military or Hmong forces in defense of the Kingdom of Laos between 1960 and 1975. The scholarship is sponsored and administered by the Edgar Allen Poe Literary Society (EAPLS). EAPLS is a non-profit, last-man, veteran organization consisting of Forward Air Controllers (FACs) who lived in Laos, flew under the call sign "Raven" or its predecessor "Butterfly", and supported Laotian and Hmong forces during the Southeast Asia conflict between 1966 and 1973. The award is presented in memory of those Ravens, now deceased, who served and sacrificed that others may be free and prosper.
2. Purpose. This scholarship is meant to provide educational assistance to the descendants of those who served so ably alongside the Ravens in the defense of their country. This assistance is intended to enable the individual to further their education and to reward the qualities that the Ravens and Laotian forces admire. The funds are provided to assist with tuition, lab fees, books, and other direct educational expenses.
3. Eligibility. Descendants or legal wards of any Lao or Hmong individual who served in the Royal Laotian Military or Hmong forces in defense of the Kingdom of Laos between 1960 and 1975 will be eligible to compete for this scholarship. No individual may be selected for two consecutive years, nor may he/she receive more than two scholarships. Applicants must be a high school senior or graduate, and must be enrolled or actively seeking to enroll full time in the coming academic year in an undergraduate program of studies leading to a Bachelor or Associate Degree at an accredited college, junior college, or university in the United States. Applicants who receive a full scholarship to any accredited college or university, including an appointment to a U.S. Service Academy, are not eligible for this scholarship.
4.
Procedures.
Completed applications must
be mailed to Raven Scholarship,
2944 Mountain Top Drive
West Blocton, AL 35184. Applications must be postmarked not later than
February 29, 2008. A board of EAPLS members will review the applications and
select the most deserving individual as the winner based on an overall
evaluation of the applicant's academic achievement, goals, character, service
beyond self, and the quality of their essay. All applications become the
property of EAPLS.
Winning recipients will be asked to provide a digital photograph and copy of
their essay. Their essay and photograph may be published on the Raven FAC
website. The board is solely responsible for
selecting the scholarship recipient; the decisions of the board are final. The
selected recipient will be notified no later than April 30 and the announcement
will be posted on the Raven web site at
http://www.ravens.org.
Non-recipients will not be individually notified. If possible, the recipient's
school also will be notified and requested to make the presentation at their
annual awards ceremony. The recipient will be required to provide proof of
enrollment, at which time the scholarship check will be mailed to the winner,
made payable to the applicable college.
5. Application Requirements. All applicants must provide the following:
A. Completed application form (download from http://www.ravens.org/scholar/download.htm).
B. One page essay of 500 words, or less, describing applicant's goals.
C. Copy of High School transcript.
D. Two Letters of Recommendation (To: EAPLS) from adult members of your community (e.g. from school teachers/principals/extracurricular officials; youth/religious/civic/non-profit organization officials; public officials, employers, or business leaders). Letters may not come from the applicant's immediate family members, from the family of any Raven FAC, or from anyone directly associated with the EAPLS organization. Letters should be on letterhead paper and not exceed a page in length.