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MilVets trustees describe $15,000 in scholarships, rally model as parade attendance wanes
Summary
MilVets Educational Foundation told the House Veterans and Military Development Committee it awards two $5,000 and two $2,500 scholarships at both its Armed Forces Day luncheon and Veterans Day rally, runs entirely on volunteers and has shifted a downtown parade to a rally model at the National Veterans Memorial Museum.
Carrie Killingsworth, president of MilVets Educational Foundation (MilVets), told the House Veterans and Military Development Committee that the small, volunteer-run nonprofit awards $15,000 at each of two annual events and has shifted a long-running downtown parade into a Veterans Day rally at the National Veterans Memorial Museum.
"We are 100% volunteers who serve as trustees, associate trustees and advisors," Killingsworth said. She described two primary annual events: an Armed Forces Day luncheon, set for May 16 at which MilVets will award two $5,000 scholarships and two $2,500 scholarships (totaling $15,000) to qualifying high-school and college students in Franklin County and a surrounding six-county area; and a Veterans Day rally that also awards $15,000 in scholarships open to veterans and their dependents.
Killingsworth said MilVets has awarded $63,000 in scholarships since 2022 and generally fields about 20to 25 active members and trustees. MilVets identified local partnerships such as Fort Hayes Junior ROTC and noted that eight current or past trustees have been inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.
Merle Pratt, present with Killingsworth and identified as a MilVets trustee, said the organization shifted from a parade to a rally after parade attendance and community engagement declined.
"We tried the rally thing. We're gonna try that again next year," Pratt said, explaining the groups efforts to keep veterans connected to the community.
Committee members asked about MilVetsgeographic focus and programs for junior ROTC students; Killingsworth said the group's scholarship recipients are drawn from Franklin County and counties that touch Franklin (for example, Madison, Union, Fairfield and Delaware counties) and that the organization helps provide modest support such as PT gear for Fort Hayes Junior ROTC students.
Killingsworth and Pratt emphasized the group's nonpartisan approach and reliance on donations from individuals, corporations, government and veteran groups to fund scholarships and events.
No committee action resulted from the presentation.
