FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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
SCHEID VINEYARDS AWARDS $14,000
TO
26 WINNERS IN 21ST
ANNUAL WRITING COMPETITION
$235,000
in Scholarships Have Been Awarded Since the Contest’s Inception
GREENFIELD, CA – June 10, 2009 – A total of twenty-six students from
Greenfield and King City High Schools were prize winners in the 21st
annual Scheid Writing Contest in which $14,200 of scholarship money was
awarded. The winners were recently honored
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 $235,000 in scholarship money.
Approximately 100 students from both
schools, freshmen through seniors, competed for $14,200 in total scholarship
money. This year’s challenging topic was
Guantánamo Bay and interrogation techniques.
Participants were asked to research the background of Guantánamo Bay and
discuss the arguments for and against keeping it open, as well as discuss
military interrogation methods and their personal feelings regarding this
topic. Past topics have included the
death penalty, immigration reform, global warming, 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) operates
approximately 5,300 acres of premium wine grape vineyards, primarily in
Monterey County, California. The
Company’s state-of-the-art winery commenced operations in 2005 and has the
capacity to process approximately 30,000 tons of grapes each harvest. The Company’s primary business is producing
wine grapes and converting them into high quality bulk wine for sale to other
wineries. In addition, the Company
produces ultra premium wine under the Scheid Vineyards label, which is sold
through the Company’s tasting rooms, wine club, and Monterey, California area
retailers.
SENIOR
WINNERS OF THE 21st ANNUAL SCHEID VINEYARDS WRITING CONTEST ARE AS
FOLLOWS:
Greenfield
High School:
First
Place Winner: Cynthia Villanueva
Second
Place Winner: Nayeli Gallardo
Third
Place Winner: Elise Shaheen
Fourth Place
Winner: Marcos Pantoja
King
City High School:
First
Place Winner: Lawson J. Welburn
Second
Place Winner: Carolyn Madson
Third
Place Winner: Alex Capiz
Fourth Place
Winner: Shelby Potts
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