When Ben Overholser passed away in May of last year after a seven month battle with cancer, his wife, Gail, and son, Josh, wanted to make sure that his giving spirit could still live on. So shortly after his death, they established the Ben Overholser Memorial Foundation as a 501(c)(3) with the goal of supporting causes near and dear to Ben’s heart.
“Once we realized he didn’t have much time left, Dad and I had a good conversation where I told him I wanted to make sure his giving legacy could continue to live on and make a positive impact in the world, even after he was gone,” Josh said.
“Dad had always loved supporting youth involved in agriculture,” Josh continued. “He had received honorary chapter degrees from the Ansonia, Arcanum, Greenville, and Mississinawa Valley FFA Chapters, and through SISCO, he and my mom were frequently platinum level buyers at the livestock sale at the fair. So with all that in mind, we settled on a foundation focused on providing scholarships to Darke County youth involved in ag.”
Donations from the community quickly poured in. “We can’t thank the community enough for their support,” said Ben’s widow, Gail. “To think that we’ve been able to give out over $26,000 in scholarships in just our first year is incredible. We couldn’t do it without all of our amazing supporters.”
The foundation started by offering two $5,000 scholarships to Jr. Fair exhibitors at the 2021 Great Darke County Fair where Taylor Stachler and Laura Wuebker were the winners out of over 30 applicants.
The foundation then offered $2,000 scholarships to students from each FFA Chapter in Darke County. Winners were announced at their chapter banquets held in the spring of 2022.
Winners were:
Ansonia – Carrie Rhoades ($2,000)
Arcanum – Madelyn Fearon ($2,000), Landon Haney ($1,000), Luke Brinksneader ($1,000)
Bradford – Alexis Barhorst ($2,000)
Greenville – Madison Werner ($2,000)
Mississinawa Valley – Alison Byram ($2,000), Kennedy Stachler ($2,000)
Versailles – Caleb Kaiser ($2,000)
No applications were received from Franklin Monroe or Tri-Village
“We had a great first year, but we’re not done yet,” Gail said. “As long as we have the support to do so, we plan to keep this going with scholarships both at the fair and for our local FFA chapters.”
Next up for the foundation will be the presentation of two more $5,000 scholarships this August at the Great Darke County Fair. Darke County incoming seniors who participate in the Jr. Fair are eligible. Applications can be downloaded from the scholarship tab on https://darkecountyjrfair.com. Applications are due August 1.
If you’d like to support the foundation, you can mail your tax deductible donation to the Ben Overholser Memorial Foundation, PO Box 475, Greenville, OH 45331. You can also keep up with what they’re doing by liking Ben Overholser Memorial Foundation on Facebook.
The Foundation is made up of board members Josh Overholser, Gail Overholser, Sam Custer, Regan Bowman, and Russ Badgett.
L to R: Jennifer Overholser, Gail Overholser, Carrie Rhoades (Ansonia FFA $2,000 winner), Josh Overholser
L to R: Gail Overholser, Luke Brinksneader (Arcanum FFA $1,000 winner), Landon Haney (Arcanum FFA $1,000 winner), Madelyn Fearon (Arcanum FFA $2,000 winner), Josh Overholser, Jennifer Overholser
L to R: Gail Overholser, Alexis Barhorst (Bradford FFA $2,000 winner), Josh Overholser
L to R: Gail Overholser, Madison Werner (Greenville FFA $2,000 winner), Josh Overholser
L to R: Josh Overholser, Kennedy Stachler (Mississinawa Valley FFA $2,000 winner), Alison Byram (Mississinawa Valley FFA $2,000 winner), Gail Overholser
L to R: Josh Overholser, Caleb Kaiser (Versailles FFA $2,000 winner), Gail Overholser
L to R: Josh Overholser, Laura Wuebker (Jr. Fair $5,000 winner), Gail Overholser, Russ Badgett
L to R: Josh Overholser, Kennedy Stachler (representing Taylor Stachler – Jr. Fair $5,000 winner), Gail Overholser, Russ Badgett
