About the Scholarships
The AFSCME Ohio Council 8 Scholarship Program was created in 1982 to provide financial assistance to the children of Ohio Council 8 members to attend a four-year accredited college or university. The scholarships, two $2,500-a-year grants for four years, are awarded annually to two different recipients, one male, and one female, based on the applicant's need, academic history, and higher education goals. Scholarship applications are reviewed by the union's executive board, which will award the two scholarships no later than May 12, 2023.
Sally Powless and Floyd Wright Scholarship
Sally Powless
Sally Powless has been a member and worked for AFSCME Ohio Council 8 for over 46 years. She joined AFSCME Local 544 in 1977 while working at the Lucas County Department of Jobs and Family Services. Working her way up through the ranks she became the Chief Steward and then was elected Chapter Chair of Local 544’s JFS Chapter.
In 1988, she joined the Toledo staff of Ohio Council 8 as a staff representative and earned a reputation as a skilled negotiator and grievance handler. She became Regional Director in 2004 with the retirement of George Tucker and served in that position until retiring in 2011.
She has a degree in education from the University of Toledo and taught school on the Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona. She is also a graduate of the Harvard University Trade Union Program and is a member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women as well as the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
Floyd Wright
Floyd Wright has devoted his working life to AFSCME and the union cause. He joined Ohio Council 8 in 1984 and organized Local 1316 the first union representing Gallipolis Ohio City workers. As president helped negotiate the union's first contract.
For the next 17 years, the union thrived until 2001 when the federal census determined the population of Gallipolis had dropped below 5,000. Under Ohio law, it was no longer a city and as a village, it did not have to recognize the union.
Retiring in 2011 after 31 years at the Gallipolis Water Treatment Plant he remained an AFSCME activist and worked on the repeal of SB5 and was instrumental in growing Ohio Retiree Chapter 1184 by organizing Sub-Chapter 102 representing AFSCME members in Gallia and Jackson counties.
At Ohio Council 8's 2013 convention an amendment was passed that allowed for two retiree representatives to serve on the Council 8 Executive Board. Floyd Wright was named as one of the representatives and still serves on the board.
Scholarship Application Guidelines
Please Review the Following Before Submitting an Application
- An applicant's parent must be an AFSCME Ohio Council 8 affiliated local union member who has been in good standing for at least one (1) calendar year prior to May 12, 2023.
- An applicant must graduate from high school in the year in which the application for the scholarship is made.
- An applicant must attend a four (4) year accredited college or university as a full-time student.
- Children of members of the AFSCME Ohio Council 8 Executive Board or of any staff member of the Council are not eligible for participation in the scholarship program.
- Applications must be postmarked no later than Friday, May 12, 2023. Applications that are incomplete, or are postmarked after the specified date, will be ineligible for consideration.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
An applicant must submit with his/her application two essays, each between 350 and 500 words in length. One essay is to describe why the applicant wants to attend college; the other is to describe the effect their parent's membership in AFSCME has had on their family and on them at a personal level. Content, grammar, spelling, and appearance will be considered.
An applicant must submit his/her high school transcript and a written recommendation from a high school guidance counselor or teacher who has personal knowledge of the applicant.
DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS
Scholarship funds will be pro-rated in accordance with the college or university's academic year. Applicants awarded a scholarship will be provided with detailed information as to the requirements for proof of tuition fee payment and full-time status at the time the scholarship award is made.
Scholarship funds will be paid for any quarter or semester during which the student is enrolled full-time and has submitted proof of out-of-pocket education expenses. Reimbursable education expenses are limited to tuition or other university/college fees, expenses for textbooks, and expenses for room and board, including any university/college-sponsored meal programs. Proof of out-of-pocket education expenses must be provided and may include payment toward a student loan(s). Scholarship funds will not be paid for any quarter or semester in which a student has no out-of-pocket education expenses due to the receipt of other grants, scholarships, or tuition waivers.
If during the four-year eligibility period, a student leaves school for any quarter or semester except summer, the scholarship will be terminated for the period the individual is not a student or is a part-time student.
The scholarship will be terminated at any point the student's parent ceases to be a member in good standing of the union for any reason, except retirement or death. The scholarship will be terminated if the student fails to maintain a passing grade point average.
Termination will be effective at the beginning of the next semester or quarter following the event triggering the termination.
