The Order of the Golden Rule Foundation Announces 2023 Awards of Excellence Scholarship Winners

Funeral Industry News Funeral Industry Press Releases Order of the Golden Rule April 13, 2023
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The Order of the Golden Rule Foundation Announces 2023 Awards of Excellence Scholarship Winners

INDIANAPOLIS (April 13, 2023) – The Order of the Golden Rule Foundation is proud to announce it has granted scholarships to  six graduating students as part of its 2023 Awards of Excellence scholarship program. These scholarships are awarded each year to  mortuary students based on strong academic performance, community involvement and an essay exemplifying a commitment to  serving grieving families with compassion, fairness and dignity.  

The 2023 Gold Award of Excellence recipient is Peyton Nash who graduated in March from the Worsham College of  Mortuary Science in Wheeling, Illinois. Peyton lives in Willowbrook, Illinois and has “a genuine drive and passion for helping  bereaved individuals and families find peace in the passing of their loved ones.” 

Peyton says “to guide and help people during one of their most traumatic experiences of their lives is something I feel chosen and  compelled to do. I am proud to take responsibility for providing a service to care for others with the promise to fulfill their needs  so that they can have one less worry in their life.”  

Peyton was awarded $3,500 to assist her as she enters the funeral profession post-graduation. 

Ann Kaufman of the Commonwealth Institute of Funeral Service in Houston, Texas and Jacqueline Brock of the  American Academy McAllister Institute in New York, New York were both awarded the Silver Award of Excellence, each  worth $2,000. Ann is currently working as chief of staff at the US House of Representatives and will graduate in June. Jacqueline  works as an administrative assistant at Vander Plaat Funeral Home of Wyckoff and graduates in August. 

The foundation also gave away two Bronze-level scholarships worth $1,000 each to Scott Runyon of Des Moines Area  Community College in Des Moines, Iowa and Molly Smith of Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science in Cincinnati,  Ohio. The foundation was also pleased to award a $500 scholarship to Nia Collins of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary  Science who graduates in June. 

Scholarship recipients will be recognized at OGR’s Annual Conference in Indianapolis during the Golden Circle Celebration  Dinner on May 3. 

“Peyton, Anna, Jacqueline and all of our scholarship recipients each exemplify the heart for personal service that OGR stands for,  and we are excited to welcome them into our profession,” said Kim Hunter, chair of the OGR Foundation. 

Scholarships are funded by donations to the OGR Foundation, the charitable arm of the Order of the Golden Rule and a  registered nonprofit under IRS Tax Code 501(c)(3). Its mission is to fund, perform and/or support activities on behalf of OGR  that advance the standards of funeral service or contribute to the compassionate care of individuals in need. 

Learn more and make your tax-deductible donation at OGR.org/Foundation

About the Order of the Golden Rule 

Founded in 1928, OGR is an association of independently owned and operated funeral homes throughout North America and  overseas that share common goals of exemplary service, uncompromising care and compassion to families in their time of need.  For more information, visit OGR.org