Seven Solano County residents are recipients of Friends of the Fair college scholarships totaling $29,000. From left are Carrie Hamel of Dixon, scholarship committee chair; Payton King of Fairfield; Brianne Castelli of Dixon; Cody Barr of Dixon; Vincent Perry of Vacaville; Massimo Menicou of Vacaville; Elena Mendonsa of Vacaville; and Gil Molina of Vacaville, president of Friends of the Fair. Not pictured is Sam Esperson of Rio Vista, who won the Donnie Huffman Presidential Award of $8000. Since 2000, the Friends have awarded $306,750 in scholarships. Photo courtesy of Kathy Keatley Garvey

SOLANO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The Friends of the Dixon May Fair has awarded a total of $29,000 in college scholarships to seven Solano County residents who are majoring in an agricultural field.

Carrie Hamel of Dixon, chair of the Friends’ annual Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship Program, presented the awards on June 4 at the Friends of the Fair Plaza, Dixon May Fair.

Since 2003, the Friends have awarded $306,750 in scholarships.

The program, offering scholarships at both the university and community college levels, was renamed the Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship Program in 2022 in honor of the founding president Donnie Huffman (1940-2023), and his wife, Tootie, the founding treasurer. Donnie died June 17, 2023, after a long battle with cancer. 

Sam Esperson of Rio Vista, a California Polytechnic Institute (Cal Poly) Class of 2026 member and an agricultural systems management major, received the top award, the $8,000 Donnie Huffman Presidential Scholarship. Esperson, a 2022 graduate of Rio Vista High School, is also a previous recipient of the presidential award.

Massimo Menicou of Vacaville won the $5,000 JoAn Giannoni Scholarship, named for the Friends’ former longtime secretary of Dixon.  Menicou, a 2024 graduate of Vacaville High School and a student at University of Nevada, plans to become a veterinarian. He also is a previous award recipient.

Elena Mendonsa of Vacaville, a student at Chico State University, won the $4,000 Ester Armstrong Memoria Scholarship. A 2024 graduate of Vacaville Christian High School, Mendonsa is majoring in animal science and plans to become a veterinarian. She is a previous recipient. The scholarship memorializes a former director of the California Division of Fairs and Expositions who died in 2009 of cancer. Armstrong, a Rocklin resident, served as interim chief executive officer of the Dixon May Fair from 2006 to 2009.

Cody Barr of Dixon won the $3,500 Joe Gates Memorial Scholarship memorializing the longtime auctioneer of the Dixon May Fair Junior Livestock Auction. Barr is a Dixon High School Class of 2025 member and will major in agribusiness, with an emphasis in farm and ranch management, at Utah State University. Gates, a Rio Vista resident, died from COVID-19 in February 2021. 

Brianne Castelli of Dixon won a $3,500 Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship. She is a Dixon High School Class of 2025 member and will attend Montana State University. She plans to become a veterinarian.

Payton King of Fairfield won a $3,500 Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship. A Rodriguez High School Class of 2025 member, King will attend the University of Minnesota, Crookston, majoring in agricultural business.

In the community college category, Vincent Perry of Vacaville received the $1,500 Jack Hopkins Memorial Scholarship. A Vacaville High School Class of 2025 member, Perry will attend Butte College, majoring in agricultural business. Hopkins (1922-2009), a fruit rancher and lifelong resident of Fairfield and Suisun, was a strong supporter of the Junior Livestock Auctions at the Dixon May Fair and Solano County Fair.

Esperson was unable to attend the ceremony, but his parents, Mark and Christina Esperson of Rio Vista, did so on his behalf.

Christina Esperson read his note to the crowd: “I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude or your generosity toward myself and my education. I am honored to be selected as this year’s recipient of the Donnie Huffman Presidential Scholarship Award. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend and accept your award in person. As my parents are reading this statement, I am currently in San Luis Obispo in the middle of an officers’ meeting for Cal Poly’s Agricultural Engineering Society (he serves as president). My time at Cal Poly has been a blast and I am looking forward to my final year. Thanks again for your support towards my academics over the past four years.”

In his essay, part of the application packet, Esperson wrote that he is seeking a bachelor’s degree in agricultural systems management (ASM).

“ASM’s unique blend of bioresource engineering and agricultural business equips students with a versatile skill set vital for the evolving agricultural industry. Along with my major in ASM, I am also double majoring in agricultural business and crop science,” Esperson said in his essay. He seeks to apply his skills and knowledge “to contribute meaningfully to the agricultural industry.”

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.

Scholarship applicants are scored on personal, civic and academic experience; academic standing; personal commitment and established goals; leadership potential; and civic accomplishment. Most applicants have experience in 4-H, FFA or Grange-criteria desired but not mandated. Continuing scholarship winners can 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 annual application deadline is March 1. The application form can be downloaded from the Friends of the Fair Facebook page at facebook.com/FriendsoftheDixonMayFair. For more information, contact Hamel at [email protected] or 530-219-8090.

The scholarship committee, chaired by Hamel, includes Tootie Huffman, Linda Molina, Kathy Keatley Garvey and Kristy Vasquez, all of Vacaville, and Sue Miracle and Michelle Robinson of Dixon.