For Further Information:
Scheid Vineyards Inc.
305 Hilltown Road
Salinas, CA 93908
(831) 455-9990
Contact: Scott D. Scheid, President and Chief Executive
Officer
Mike Thomsen, Chief Financial Officer
For Immediate Release:
June 20, 2006
SCHEID
VINEYARDS AWARDS $13,000 TO
26
WINNERS IN 18TH ANNUAL WRITING COMPETITION
Greenfield,
CA, June 20, 2006 - A total of twenty-six students from Greenfield and King City High
Schools were prize winners in the 18th annual Scheid Writing Contest
in which $13,000 of scholarship money was awarded.
Scott
Scheid, President and CEO of Salinas-based Scheid Vineyards Inc., and Mike
Thomsen, CFO, honored the winners recently at Scholarship Banquets held at the
Salinas Valley Fairgrounds (for King City High School) and Greenfield High
School.
Scheid
Vineyards sponsors and administers the Scheid Writing Contest to challenge area
students to think about a broad range of topics and to encourage students to
pursue higher education. Winners are chosen based on their ability to research
and write an essay on a given topic.
With this year’s awards, Scheid Vineyards will have given $197,000 in
scholarship money.
A
total of 103 students from both schools, freshmen through seniors, competed for
$13,000 in total scholarship money.
This year’s challenging topic was the right to die. Participants were asked to research
physician-assisted suicide and discuss the arguments supporting and opposing
the legalization of physician-assisted suicide, as well as examine their
personal feelings regarding end-of-life issues. Past topics have included the death penalty, immigration reform,
the USA Patriot Act and its affect on an individual’s right to privacy, the use
of military tribunals in terrorist cases, and the pros and cons of the
Electoral College.
Ms.
Heidi M. Scheid, Senior Vice President of Scheid Vineyards and a member of the
annual judging team, commented, “Scheid Vineyards has been sponsoring the
Scheid Writing Contest for many years, as a way to support our community and
give back to our local-area high schools.
The idea to hold a writing contest started with my father, Al
Scheid. He has always believed that the
ability to communicate one’s ideas effectively is a key to success. The winners this year did an excellent job
tackling a difficult topic and we congratulate them on their achievement.”
Ms.
Scheid said that support from the teachers and administrators at both high
schools is key to the success of the contest.
“The faculty members have embraced the Scheid Writing Contest, and have
used the essay topic to hold in-classroom debates to get all of the students
involved. The contest is held on the
weekend, so it requires both faculty and participating students to sacrifice
personal time to participate. We really
appreciate the commitment of everyone who is involved in the writing contest
and helps to make it a valuable learning experience for the students.”
Scheid Vineyards Inc.
(www.scheidvineyards.com) is an independent producer of premium wine grapes and
bulk wine. The Company operates
approximately 5,700 acres of vineyards, primarily in Monterey County,
California. The Company sells most of its grape production under short and
long-term grape and bulk wine contracts to wineries producing high quality
table wine. The Company also operates a
winery with an approximately 11,000 ton processing capability in which the
Company produces bulk wine, as well as a small amount of ultra premium wine
under its own label.
LEADING WINNERS OF THE 18th ANNUAL SCHEID
VINEYARDS WRITING CONTEST ARE AS FOLLOWS:
Greenfield High School:
First Place Winner:
Andrew Breaux
Second Place Winner:
Juan S. Silva
Third Place Winner:
Dorian Garibay
Fourth Place Winner
(Tie): Flavia Bahena, Kourtney
Gulick
King City High School:
First Place Winner:
Whitney Hudson
Second Place Winner:
Janett Aguilar
Third Place Winner:
Lea Uebelhart
Fourth Place
Winner: May Barbree
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