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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Payton King, of Fairfield, won a $3,500 Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Massimo Menicou, of Vacaville, won the $5,000 JoAn Giannoni Scholarship, named for the Friends’ former longtime secretary of Dixon. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Elena Mendonsa, of Vacaville, a student at Chico State University, won the $4,000 Ester Armstrong Memorial Scholarship. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Vincent Perry, of Vacaville, received the $1,500 Jack Hopkins Memorial Scholarship. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Sam Esperson, of Rio Vista, a member of the California Polytechnic Institute Class of 2026 and an agricultural systems management major, received the top award, the $8,000 Donnie Huffman Presidential Scholarship. 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. (Courtesy photo)
Brianne Castelli, of Dixon, won a $3,500 Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Cody Barr, of Dixon, won the $3,500 Joe Gates Memorial Scholarship. memorializing the longtime auctioneer of the Dixon May Fair Junior Livestock Auction. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Payton King, of Fairfield, won a $3,500 Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Massimo Menicou, of Vacaville, won the $5,000 JoAn Giannoni Scholarship, named for the Friends’ former longtime secretary of Dixon. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Elena Mendonsa, of Vacaville, a student at Chico State University, won the $4,000 Ester Armstrong Memorial Scholarship. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Vincent Perry, of Vacaville, received the $1,500 Jack Hopkins Memorial Scholarship. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Sam Esperson, of Rio Vista, a member of the California Polytechnic Institute Class of 2026 and an agricultural systems management major, received the top award, the $8,000 Donnie Huffman Presidential Scholarship. 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. (Courtesy photo)
Brianne Castelli, of Dixon, won a $3,500 Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship. 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. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
Cody Barr, of Dixon, won the $3,500 Joe Gates Memorial Scholarship. memorializing the longtime auctioneer of the Dixon May Fair Junior Livestock Auction. (Kathy Keatley Garvey/Courtesy photo)
DIXON — 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.
The Friends have awarded $306,750 in scholarships since 2003. 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.
Sam Esperson, of Rio Vista, a member of the California Polytechnic Institute Class of 2026 and an agricultural systems management major, received the top award, the $8,000 Donnie Huffman Presidential Scholarship.
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.
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, she is majoring in animal science and plans to become a veterinarian.
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 member of the Dixon High School Class of 2025 and will be attending Utah State University and majoring in agribusiness, with an emphasis in farm and ranch management.
Gates, a Rio Vista resident, died of Covid-19 in February 2021.
Brianne Castelli, of Dixon, won a $3,500 Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship. She is a member of the Dixon High School Class of 2025 and will be attending Montana State University. She plans to become a veterinarian.
Payton King, of Fairfield, won a $3,500 Donnie and Tootie Huffman Scholarship. A member of the Rodriguez High School Class of 2025, she will be attending 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 member of the Vacaville High School Class of 2025, he will be attending 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.
The Friends, an all-volunteer, service-oriented organization, is the fundraising arm of the Dixon May Fair. Headed by president Gilbert 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.
The annual application deadline is March 1. The application form can be downloaded from the Friends of the Fair Facebook page at www.facebook.com/friendsofthedixonmayfair.
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