By the time the next newsletter hits your mailbox, you will have a new president (don\u2019t all cheer at once!). Since this is my last \u201cNotes,\u201d I thought I would share some of my memories of Mr. Ford; so many of you never got to meet the man behind your scholarship.<\/p>\n

In 1994, I received a letter telling me I was one of 45 people selected to interview for a Ford Family Foundation Scholarship. I had no idea what that was (the car company?), or how they got my name since I didn\u2019t apply for it. Turns out, the Scholarship Commission pulled candidates from all the applications received that year for every scholarship administered by the state. You see, Kenneth Ford wanted to start his Ford Scholars Program in 1994, and he wouldn\u2019t be dissuaded just because the official applications hadn\u2019t been widely distributed yet. He was determined, and I doubt many things ever stood in the way of a determined Kenneth Ford.<\/p>\n

At our first conference, we learned that to Kenneth Ford, \u201ccasual attire\u201d meant a tie, slacks, loafers and a short-sleeved<\/i> dress shirt.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ford\u2019s vision was for us to be \u201cFord Scholars for life.\u201d To him, this wasn\u2019t about finances. He told us plain and simple: \u201cI didn\u2019t give you money. I invested in you, and I expect a return on my investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

At our home-spun talent show, when Annie Tester played the piano while I sang \u201cClimb Every Mountain,\u201d Mr. Ford cried. Like, really cried.<\/p>\n

He insisted we have Bananas Foster after dinner, even though it was quite expensive for a group our size. He wanted us to feel special (and really, what\u2019s more special than a flaming dessert?).<\/p>\n

Mr. Ford really listened to us. He wanted to know what we thought and why. He wasn\u2019t shy about giving his opinion when he disagreed, but it was only because he genuinely had our best interests at heart.<\/p>\n

When the first 16 of us graduated from college in 1996, we decided to perform a little makeshift \u201ccap and gown\u201d ceremony at Salishan for Mr. Ford. It was supposed to be fun, but it quickly turned into one of the most deeply touching, emotionally moving evenings I\u2019ve ever experienced.<\/p>\n

Scholar after Scholar took the microphone to tell their stories \u2013 first generation Americans who were the only college graduates in their families, people who\u2019d triumphed over extreme adversity, people who\u2019d only dreamt of achieving their academic and professional goals\u2026 a single mom with three young children, trying to make a better life for her family (yes, that was me).<\/p>\n

Among us sat a humble man whose own dream made these feats possible. And he had tears streaming down his face, as did everyone there (even the servers!). Yes, he paid our way through school, but far more importantly, he believed in us and somehow made each of us feel like we could accomplish just about anything. He was witnessing the first fruits of his labor that evening, and he was tremendously proud of each one of us.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ford passed away the following year, and several of us drove to Roseburg to attend his funeral. I don\u2019t think I ever felt more honored to be a Ford Scholar than on that day. Bonnie Ford told us later that as much as Kenneth had touched our lives, we had also touched his. He was more patient, laughed more, and even danced with her on a cruise they\u2019d taken together, something he just didn\u2019t do.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ford told us, \u201cYou are special. Now go out there and be special.\u201d Sure, it was for those of us in the room at the time, but I know if he could see the 1600+ members of the Ford Scholar Alumni Association, he would say the same thing to each of you. I hope each of you will carry that in your hearts as you make your way through life.<\/p>\n

It has truly been my honor to serve this organization, and I hope more of you will get involved. Ford Scholars are among the best human beings I\u2019ve ever met; you truly are special.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the time the next newsletter hits your mailbox, you will have a new president (don\u2019t all cheer at once!). Since this is my last \u201cNotes,\u201d I thought I would share some of my memories of Mr. Ford; so many of you never got to meet the man behind your scholarship. In 1994, I received […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Andrea-Smith-533x8001.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8g73C-2z","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":847,"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions\/847"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fordscholaralumni.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}