Pheasants Forever Presents $2,000 Scholarship to High School Senior

The local Pheasants Forever chapter announced Slinger High School senior Michelle Gross as its first ever John K. Baer Memorial Scholarship winner at the in Port Washington.

Pheasants Forever Chapter 680 Ozaukee/Washington County presented Gross with a $2,000 scholarship, named for chapter founding member John Baer — who passed away while hunting in 2011, according to a press release from member Marc Daniloff.

The Pheasants Forever John K. Baer Memorial Scholarship will be awarded annually to an Ozaukee or Washington County high school student pursuing a college major in the areas of natural resources or conservation, according to Daniloff. Gross intends to pursue her forestry and wildlife ecology studies at Michigan Technical University.

More from the release:

The funding for the first year came from donations and memorials in John's name. A plaque created by chapter members Bill Buchholz, Marc Daniloff and Recognition Specialists in Grafton will be updated each year with the name of the scholarship winner, which will be announced and presented annually at the banquet. 

This year's banquet, which included live and silent auctions and a variety of raffles, featured a sit-down dinner catered by Saz's Catering. All net proceeds raised at the banquet stay with the local chapter to assist landowners in Ozaukee and Washington County for habitat restoration projects, and for funding education initiatives under the national program, including No Child Left Indoors. 

Earlier this year, Pheasants Forever National announced that Chapter 680 Ozaukee/Washington County ranked No. 1 of all Wisconsin chapters and was No. 14 in the nation for funding youth outreach programs. 

Pheasants Forever Chapter 680 Ozaukee/Washington County, founded 12 years ago, is a nonprofit organization. Meetings are held monthly on the 2nd Wednesday at the Harris Bank Community Room in Cedarburg. For more information, you can visit the Chapter 680 website or on Facebook.