Donnie and Tootie Huffman were honored at a Dixon May Fair dedication on May 5, 2022. Photo courtesy of Kathy Keatley Garvey

DIXON, CA (MPG) - Not many organizations sponsor college scholarships for Solano County high school graduates majoring in an agricultural-related field, but the Friends of the Dixon May Fair does and has for the past 25 years.

The organization has awarded a total of $274,750 to Solano County residents majoring in agriculture since 2000, according to scholarship chair Carrie Hamel of Dixon. 

Last year, the Friends awarded $26,000 in scholarships.

This year, the Friends will fund nine scholarships, valued at a total of $31,000, in its annual Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship Program open to all Solano County high school graduates majoring in an agricultural field at a university or community college in the United States. Initially, only Solano County high school graduates attending college in California were eligible to enter.

The deadline to apply for the 2025 scholarships is March 1. 

The four-year university or college category scholarships are the Donnie Huffman Presidential Scholarship Award of $8,000; JoAn Giannoni Scholarship Award of $5,000; Ester Armstrong Memorial Scholarship Award of $4,000; and Joe Gates Memorial Scholarship Award of $3,500 to the second-, third- and fourth-place qualifier.

Two-year community college category scholarships are the Jack Hopkins Scholarship Award of $1,500 and a $1,000 scholarship award.

The Friends, an all-volunteer, service-oriented organization, is the fundraising arm of the Dixon May Fair. Headed by President Gilbert "Gil" Molina of Vacaville, the organization raises funds through the sale of beverages at the four-day fair and donates the proceeds for building and grounds improvements, college scholarships and exhibitor awards.

Applicants are scored on personal, civic and academic experience; academic standing; personal commitment and established goals; leadership potential; and civic accomplishments. Most applicants have experience in 4-H, FFA or Grange, which are criteria desired but not mandated.

Continuing scholarship winners can apply up to four times, Hamel said. Scholarship checks can be used only for tuition, fees, books, materials and supplies, housing and meals bought on campus. 

The application form can be downloaded from the Friends of the Fair Facebook page at FriendsoftheDixonMayFair. For more information, contact Hamel at [email protected] or 530-219-8090.

Completed application packets must be postmarked no later than 5 p.m. March 1 and mailed to the Scholarship Committee, Friends of Dixon May Fair, P.O. Box 242, Dixon, CA 95620.

The scholarship committee, chaired by Hamel, also includes Tootie Huffman, Kathy Keatley Garvey and Linda Molina, all of Vacaville, and Sue Miracle and Michelle Robinson of Dixon.  

The scholarship program was named the Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship Program in honor of the founding President Donnie Huffman (1940-2023), and his wife, Tootie, the founding treasurer. Donnie Huffman died June 17, 2023 after a long battle with cancer. Tootie Huffman continues as a Friends of the Fair volunteer.

Donnie Huffman also founded the Friends of the Solano County Fair in 1993 and served as its president until 2006. The Huffmans began a college scholarship program for both fairs. In tribute to their work, the program was renamed the Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship Program in 2022. 

The 2024 recipients

Sam Esperson, a 2022 graduate of Rio Vista High School and a student at California Polytechnic University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, won the $5,000 Donnie Huffman Memorial Scholarship, the highest award that the program offers. He is majoring in agricultural systems management.

Massimo Menicou of Vacaville, a 2024 graduate of Vacaville High School, won the $4,000 JoAn Giannoni Award, honoring a Dixon resident who is the founding secretary of the Friends. Menicou received an early acceptance to the University of Nevada. He plans to become a veterinarian.

Natalie Victorine, of Dixon, a 2021 graduate of Dixon High School and a student at Cal Poly, won the $3,500 Ester Armstrong Memorial Award. The award memorializes former California Division of Fairs and Expositions director Ester Armstrong, who died in May 2009 of cancer. Armstrong, a Rocklin resident, served as interim chief executive officer of the Dixon May Fair from 2006 to 2009.

Elena Mendonsa of Vacaville, a 2024 graduate of Vacaville Christian High School, won the $3,000 Joe Gates Memorial Scholarship, memorializing the longtime auctioneer of the Dixon May Fair Junior Livestock Auction.  Gates, a Rio Vista resident, died from COVID-19 in February 2021. 

Winning $3,000 scholarships last year in the university category were Megan Kett, a 2021 graduate of Dixon High School and a student at Oklahoma University; Bridget de Flores, a 2023 graduate of Rio Vista High School and a student at Chico State University; Maya Ferris, a 2024 graduate of Vacaville High School, enrolled at Cal Poly; and Trevan de Rosier, a 2024 graduate of Angelo Rodriguez High School, Fairfield, enrolled at University of California at Davis.

In the community college category, Cole Jacobson, a 2024 graduate of Dixon High School and an incoming student at Woodland Community College, won the $1,500 Jack Hopkins Memorial Scholarship. Hopkins (1922-2009), a life-long resident of Fairfield and Suisun and a fruit rancher, was a strong supporter of the Junior Livestock Auctions at the Dixon May Fair and the Solano County Fair.