The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle thanks donors, celebrate recipients

Press release: 1/11/2019

The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle held its annual brunch on January 6 at Concord’s Trinity Episcopal Church, celebrating named endowed fund honorees and donors and scholarship recipients. 

Board Chair Bee Loprete welcomed a full house of benefactors, trustees and scholarship recipients and introduced two speakers. Carol (Finigan) Wilson spoke as a representative of her family who established the John B. Finigan Memorial Scholarship Fund to honor their father. John B. Finigan was born in Concord in 1922. A WWII veteran, he served on the Finance Committee, the Board of Selectman, was instrumental on the Town’s Bicentennial Planning Committee in 1975 and was Concord's Honored Citizen in 1999. 

“The bridge on The Scholarship Fund’s logo is more than a reference to our geography, “ said Ms. Wilson. “It’s a bridge between the past and the future. It links those who have come before us and inspired us with their energy and love of community with the young people in our towns who are just staring out. They need all the help they can get to pay for college, and our funds are helping them on their way.”

Carol Wilson also spearheaded fundraising efforts to honor Anthony (“Tony”) Logalbo. Logalbo retired as director of finance for the Town of Concord in September 2016 after 32 years of service. The endowed Fund honors Logalbo’s career as a talented administrator and tireless mentor of young professionals.

The second speaker, Ryan Baker, now a freshman at Emerson College, is a recipient of the John B. Finigan Memorial Scholarship. Baker thanked the donors and trustees for helping him to achieve his goal of pursuing a degree in theater and education. He continued, “I believe that Mr. Finigan participated in projects for the National Park Service, and that really means something to me. My father is a retired National Park Service employee who worked at Minuteman National Historic Park, which is the reason we moved to Concord.” 

All told, 68 students received need – based post-secondary scholarships in 2018. The 2018 fundraising campaign concluded with $314,000 contributed by 1,178 donors. However, with tuition and fees rising there is more to do to narrow the estimated $1 million of unmet need annually among Concord and Carlisle residents. 

The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle is gearing up for its annual Phonation on March 17 and 18. Along with trustees, over 100 Concord-Carlisle High School students from the National Honor Society will gather to raise contributions from Concord and Carlisle townspeople. 

The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle is the largest source of scholarships offered to students in the community who need help in order to pursue their dreams. Founded in 1966, The Scholarship Fund has provided approximately $3 million in need-based scholarships to over 1,400 Concord and Carlisle students.