Jun 6, 2025
Croton Holding President Milo Ritton discusses a scholarship award with award winner Ayla Allie during Par Mar’s annual scholarship awards dinner Wednesday evening in Marietta. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
MARIETTA — Eleven students were honored Wednesday evening at the annual Par Mar Scholarship Awards Dinner, where more than $190,000 in scholarships were presented at the Tower Event Conference Center in Marietta.
The event, held in partnership with the Ritton Family Foundation, celebrated the achievements of college-bound students from across the region.
Among the recipients was 12-year-old Carmella Meier, who was awarded a $100,000 education fund. According to the Ritton Family Foundation, Meier’s background and circumstances were key in the decision to support her college education. Meier lost both of her parents and her maternal grandmother over the past decade.
Her mother, April, died in a car accident near Bakerstown Church in Pennsylvania when Meier was 3 years old. Last fall, her grandmother, Trudy, passed away after a fall. In December, her father, Joshua, died from organ failure following a prolonged illness. He had been on an organ transplant waitlist but did not receive a donor organ, passing away in the same home he grew up in, surrounded by family.
Meier now lives in that home with her paternal grandparents, Jay and Erin Meier. Jay Meier is the founder of Meier Electric. The Ritton Family Foundation announced it will contribute $20,000 annually for five years toward her education.
Carmella Meier, right, alongside her grandparents Jay and Erin Meier, rush to accept a $100,000 education fund from the Ritton Foundation at the annual Par Mar Scholarship Awards Dinner on Wednesday evening in Marietta. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
In addition to Meier’s scholarship, 10 other students received awards ranging from $5,000 to $10,000.
Recipients included:
* Emily Bailey — $10,000
* Elise Lupo — $10,000
* Taylor Martin — $10,000
Milo Ritton, president of Croton Holding, honors scholarship awardees at the annual Par Mar Scholarship Awards Dinner in Marietta on Wednesday evening. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
* Suzannah Meade — $10,000
* Danielle Murphy — $10,000
* Ayla Allie — $5,000
* Kaitlyn Brown — $5,000
* Madisen Dailey — $5,000
Attendees to the annual Par Mar Scholarship Awards Dinner in Marietta were free to take treats from a “pop-up Par Mar” store during the event. (Photo by Gwen Sour)
* Blayne Kyhn — $5,000
* Hayden Walls — $5,000
The scholarship program, which has been supporting students for years, aims to assist need-based applicants in communities served by Par Mar Stores. To date, nearly $1 million has been awarded to students through the initiative.
The program’s founder, Milo Ritton, president of Croton Holding, which owns the Par Mar Stores brand, said the inspiration behind the effort is deeply personal. In 1979, after the loss of both of his parents, Ritton was awarded a scholarship from the O.J. Stout Trust, administered by United Bank (then Parkersburg National Bank), which enabled him to attend Miami University and launch a career in business.
“This is about helping kids who might not otherwise have the chance to go to college,” Ritton said. “It’s something that changed my life, and I want to do the same for others.”
Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com
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