Eastern Produce Council, Short Hills, N.J., has canceled its April 7th TopGolf event but is calling for applications for its seventh-annual scholarship.
The canceled event was sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.
“Our world and the restrictions put in place around the Coronavirus (COVID-19) have changed dramatically these past few days…We will keep you updated and informed about future EPC events,” council executive director Susan McAleavey Sarlund wrote in an email to members.
EPC had already canceled its March 10 event, a volunteer night at Community Food Bank of New Jersey.
“Most importantly, I hope you and your families are doing well under these unreal circumstances,” McAleavey Sarlund said. “We look forward to being together as a produce community!”
In the meantime, members in good standing and their families can apply through April 17 for the James and Theresa Nolan Family Foundation/Eastern Produce Council Scholarship.
The foundation was established in 2010 by Theresa Nolan in honor of her husband, James Lawrence Nolan, who died in 2008.
A veteran in the fresh produce industry, he challenged those who sought to violate anti-trust laws at his former company, according to the foundation.
“His whistleblower actions cost him his job, but he refused to bow to the pressure to go along with the attempts to circumvent the law,” according to the foundation website. “Jim died before he was vindicated in a lawsuit that followed, but a judge and jury exonerated his efforts.”
Part of the funds from the settlement of the lawsuit were used to establish and endow the foundation.
The foundation’s mission is to promote ethics and integrity in business and the workplace and to support students through scholarships that challenge them to contemplate ethics as they enter the business world.
Applicants for this $5,000 scholarship must be related to a council member who has been a member of the council for at least six months preceding the date of the application.
A 2.5 minimum GPA is required, as well as a 500-word essay on ethics, including an example of facing and dealing with an ethical challenge.
A winner will be announced May 19.
To download the application, visit easternproducecouncil.com. For more information, email easternproducecouncil@gmail.com or call 908-723-0645.
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