From left are Marcela Shepard, President of 24 Club and Chairperson of the Scholarship Committee; Marisa Gallardo, scholarship recipient, and Chelsea Hotchkiss, 24 Club Member and Scholarship Committee member. Not pictured is Samantha Gomez, scholarship recipient. (Courtesy Photo)

The 24 Club is a philanthropic, service organization serving Grant County for over 70 years. The 24 Scholarship program enables the organization to achieve its mission  €œto be a real service by supporting educational, charitable and needy projects in Grant County."

The group €™s prime objective is to provide scholarships for Grant County Women at Western New Mexico University. Established in 1952, the original scholarship is a memorial to Betty Cook, the first club member to die. It now serves as a memorial to all deceased members, as well as to Betty Cook. The more recent 24 Club Christine Drangmeister Memorial Scholarship was established in 2007 in memory of esteemed member/public school educator Christine Davis Drangmeister.

Grant County female graduates of Silver City, Cobre, or Cliff Hight Schools, possessing a G.P.A. of 3.4 or higher, are eligible for the Betty Cook Scholarship. Grant County female sophomores, juniors or seniors possessing a G.P.A. of 3.4 or higher and accepted into the Western New Mexico School of Education program are eligible for the Christine Drangmeister Scholarship.

Marisa Gallardo and Samantha Gomez, students at Western New Mexico University, were selected to receive the 24 Club Betty Cook and the 24 Club Chrisine Drangmeister Memorial Scholarships respectively.

Marisa Gallardo is pursing a degree in nursing, and Samantha Gomez is working on a double major of early childhood development and is in her second year of nursing.

A special thanks goest to all the Grant County women of the 24 Club who have worked on countless and varied fundraisers over the past 70 years in order to fund this significant local scholarship program and to the community for supporting the 24 Club Annual Home Tour.