The Guthrie County State Bank Trudy Straub Scholarship is presented each year to an outstanding senior speech student selected from those who choose to apply for the scholarship. One scholarship is awarded to an AC/GC student and one to a Panorama student. Guthrie County State Bank believes speech and communication, in general, play an important role in the future success of these students – regardless of their chosen profession. The award is named after the former long-time executive assistant at the Iowa High School Speech Association – Trudy Straub. The scholarship offers $500 per year for four years for a total of $2,000. The winners are chosen by the respective high school’s speech coach and are based on criteria including participation in speech contest, grade point average, the student’s attitude and level of cooperation, and a short letter of intent.
The 2022 winners are Tommy Bates, AC/GC, and Abbi Holloway, Panorama.
Tommy Bates will attend the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in the fall, majoring in vocal performance and theatre. While in high school, Tommy participated in band and choir, musicals, NHS, Leo’s Club, and was co-president of Art Club. Tommy is a three-time All State Chorus member and participated in Large Group and Individual Speech, earning five All State nominations over the course of his high school career. He was a member of the Come From Away musical theatre group who earned Critics Choice in 2022. Tommy is the son of Tom and Traci Bates of Bayard.
Abbi Holloway will also attend UNI this fall, majoring in Accounting. While in high school, she was involved in vocal music, musicals, plays, speech, FCA, FFA, NHS, and was a state officer for Technology Student Association. Abbi qualified for state contests in a variety of categories and was a lead for three years in plays and musicals. She is the daughter of Shawn and Angie Holloway.
Congratulations to Tommy and Abbi, the 2022 Guthrie County State Bank Trudy Straub Scholarship winners!