Empire State Games Legacy Fund Presents Scholarships
BUFFALO, N.Y. - July 17, 2012 - Today, the Empire State Games (ESG) Legacy Fund Scholarship Committee awarded $2,500 scholarships to a pair of student athletes: Justine Brennan and Ryan Bogdan.
Justine Brennan is a recent graduate of Orchard Park High School, where she excelled on the school's tennis and lacrosse teams. In tennis, she was the Section VI Doubles Champion her junior year and won third place in ECIC singles her senior year. She was the founder of her school's Cancer Awareness Club, she received the Orchard Park Teachers Association Award and she was named an All-Western New York Scholar Athlete, a US Lacrosse All American Academic Scholar and a Channel 4 Scholar Athlete of the Month. Justine graduated in June with an Advanced Regents Diploma with Honors and she plans to study industrial labor relations and economics at Cornell University.
Ryan Bogdan is a recent graduate of Canisius High School and the third of three to brothers participate in the Empire State Games. Ryan has been a dedicated runner since he started Cross Country in 7th grade and he will continue to run as he attends Juniata College this fall to pursue a degree in biochemistry. He was recently honored by the American Legion as the Eagle Scout of the Year for Western New York. He has also volunteered his time as an assistant teacher at the Erie 1 BOCES Summer Youth Camp, helping provide an educational and exciting environment for middle school students.
"The Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission was proud to assist in hosting the 2010 Empire State Games, which were a rousing success for our community," said Jon Dandes, chair of the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission. "Ryan Bogdan and Justine Brennan have embodied the spirit of the games through their excellence in sports and academics, and they are more than deserving to be this year's Empire State Games Legacy Scholarship recipients."
Following the presentation of the scholarships, Vincent W. Hope of the Empire State Sports Foundation, Inc. announced that Rochester, N.Y. would host the next Empire State Summer Games, July 24 to 28, 2013. More information will be available soon at www.empirestatesummergames.org.
About the Empire State Games Legacy Fund Scholarship:
In July 2010, Buffalo hosted the ESG, an Olympic-style competition for New York State's top amateur athletes. Unprecedented private financial and in-kind support from First Niagara Financial Group and 17 other Western New York companies allowed Buffalo to resurrect the games after they were cancelled in 2009.
The Buffalo games were so successful that they generated excess revenue, which is being reinvested in the community by the body that coordinated the games, the Empire State Games Local Organizing Committee (LOC). $50,000 of the funds was set aside to fund a pair of student scholarships for 10 years, to be distributed by the Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission, which is a subsidiary of Visit Buffalo Niagara and a LOC member.
To learn more about the scholarship and how to apply, go to www.esgscholarship.com.
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