Donnie and Tootie Huffman were honored at a dedication of the Friends of the Dixon May Fair plaque on May 5, 2022. Donnie passed June 17, 2023. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dixon, Calif. It pays to major in agriculture.
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.
This year the Friends will fund nine college scholarships, valued at a total of $31,000, in its annual Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship Program that is open to all Solano County high school graduates who are majoring in an agricultural field in a university or community college within the United States. Last year the Friends awarded $26,000 in scholarships.
Since 2000, the organization has awarded a total of $274,750 to Solano County residents majoring in agriculture, announced Carrie Hamel of Dixon, the scholarship chair. 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.
In the four-year university or college category, these scholarships are available:
–Donnie Huffman Presidential Scholarship Award of $8000
–JoAn Giannoni Scholarship Award of $5000
–Ester Armstrong Memorial Scholarship Award of $4000
–Joe Gates Memorial Scholarship Award of $3500 to the second, third and fourth place qualifiers
Two-year community college:
–Jack Hopkins Scholarship Award of $1500
–$1000 scholarship ward
Donnie Huffman with a Clydesdale at the 2006 Dixon May Fair,. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Since 2000, the Friends of the Dixon May Fair has awarded a total of $274,750 to Solano County residents majoring in agriculture, announced Carrie Hamel of Dixon, the scholarship chair. Initially only Solano County high school graduates attending college in California were eligible to enter.”
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–criteria desired but not mandated.
Continuing scholarship winners may apply up to four times, Hamel said. Scholarship checks can be used only for tuition, fees, books, materials and supplies, housing, and meals purchased on campus.
The application form can be downloaded from the Friends of the Fair Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsoftheDixonMayFair. For more information, contact Carrie Hamel at hamelc88@gmail.com or (530) 219-8090.
Completed application packets must be postmarked no later than 5 p.m.. on March 1, 2025 and mailed to: 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 (Feb. 29, 1940-2023), and his wife, Tootie, the founding treasurer. Donnie died June 17, 2023 after a long battle with cancer. His wife Tootie, continues as a Friends of the Fair volunteer.
Donnie also founded the Friends of the Solano County Fair (1993 and served as its president until 2006. He and Tootie began a college scholarship program for both fairs. Since 2000, the Friends of the Dixon May Fair has awarded a total of $248,750 to Solano County residents majoring in agriculture. In tribute to their work, the program was renamed the Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship Program in 2022. A $5,000 scholarship to the top applicant bears his name.
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 $5000 Donnie Huffman Memorial Scholarship, the highest award the program offers. He is majoring in agricultural systems management.
Massimo Menicou of Vacaville, a 2024 graduate of Vacaville High School won the $4000 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 $3500 Ester Armstrong Memorial Award. The award memorializes a former director of the California Division of Fairs and Expositions, 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 $3000 Joe Gates Memorial Scholarship, memorializing the longtime auctioneer of the Dixon May Fair Junior Livestock Auction. Gates, a Rio Vista resident, died of COVID in February 2021.
Others winning $3000 scholarships last year in the university category:
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 UC 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 $1500 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 Solano County Fair.
