HAYDEN LAKE — Before they registered for classes and cracked their college textbooks, many North Idaho Fair and Rodeo Foundation Scholarship winners raised livestock, worked concessions, beautified the grounds and otherwise contributed their talents to the North Idaho State Fair.

"This moment is just a testament to all of your hard work and resilience,” North Idaho Fair and Rodeo Foundation Development Director Serena Caples said to the scholarship winners who attended Friday's celebration luncheon at the Hayden Lake Country Club.

“Today is just a special occasion where we come together and recognize the hard work that you all have put in,” Caples said. “It takes so much dedication to even make it through high school, but to do it with an exceptional amount of dedication like you guys have is really special.”

The foundation awarded $21,000 in scholarships to 18 students from across Kootenai and Shoshone counties this year. The scholarships ranged from $500-$1,750.

This was the fourth year 2021 Lakeland High School graduate Abigail Neff received the scholarship. She is a senior at Lewis-Clark State College, where she studies radiographic science.

“I’m extremely honored,” she said. “This is a great honor to be a part of this and to be able to participate in this event. I look forward to this luncheon every year.”

She said the foundation funds are super helpful when it comes to paying for everything that goes along with college.

“This scholarship helps me every year to get one step closer to the education that I want,” Neff said.

Her mom, Jacquie Neff, said she is extremely proud of her daughter.

"She works really hard, and I know all the students here who win this scholarship from the North Idaho Fair Foundation are hard workers," Jacquie Neff said. "They all in some way have something to do with the fair, most of them in 4-H. Abbey spent a lot of years in 4-H working hard and she’s been a great student."

Since the scholarship's inception in 2016, the Fair Foundation has given away about $120,000 to Kootenai and Shoshone students enrolled in two- or four-year academic institutions or trade schools.

The 2024 recipients' career paths include nursing, agricultural business, forestry, social work, Spanish, elementary education, sports medicine, social work and interactive technology.

“I’m undecided currently what I want to study, but I’m thinking law or medicine or sustainable agriculture," said 2024 Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy graduate Alexa Sheppard, who is going to Bowdoin College in Maine.

Samantha Spraker, a 2023 Lakeland graduate, is in her junior year and currently attending North Idaho College after spending a semester at Idaho State University. She is pursuing a career in dental hygiene.

“I was able to do a lot of prerequisites in high school, so that’s how I’m a junior now,” she said.

Her mom, Shannon Spraker, was among the many proud parents at the event.

"A lot of these kids are here because of their work and their dedication to the fairgrounds and to the community," Shannon Spraker said.

Caples, who has spent two decades with 4-H, said it was wonderful to honor these students.

"Let today be a reminder that your dreams are within reach and that your community stands firmly behind you," she said to them. "We believe in you and we are excited to see the incredible things that you have all done.”

North Idaho Fair and Rodeo Foundation Scholarship 2024 recipients: Mia Moeller, Alanna Hinkle, Jacqueline Booth, Payton Sterling, Ashley Ripatti, Samantha Spraker, Alexa Sheppard, Kai Vore, Owen Forsman, Ty Davis, Claire Kelley, Abigail Neff, Jenessa Norcini, Amelie Johnson, Kyla Holte, Hayven Chase, Abbey Meyer and Ainsley Goughnour.

    Abigail Neff, center, and mom Jacquie Neff attend the North Idaho Fair Foundation's awards luncheon Friday at the Hayden Lake Country Club. This was the fourth year for Abigail to receive a scholarship from the foundation.
  

    North Idaho Fair and Rodeo Foundation President Kim Weatherford, left, and Development Director Serena Caples address attendees of the foundation's scholarship awards luncheon Friday.
 

    Claire Kelley shares her plans to pursue agricultural business and sports medicine at the University of Montana during the North Idaho Fair Foundation's scholarship awards luncheon Friday.