The Abbie DeLoach Foundation (ADF) awarded scholarships to 21 outstanding students and organizations at its annual scholarship luncheon held April 26 at the Savannah Golf Club in Savannah, Georgia. The heartwarming event celebrated the foundation’s eighth scholarship class for academic excellence, exemplary service work or athletic commitment. Once again, the luncheon’s premier sponsor was The Umbel Group at Morgan Stanley.
Anna DeLoach DeLany, Abbie’s younger sister and vice president of ADF, handed out the awards while WJCL’s Frank Sulkowski and Savannah Magazine Publisher Anita Hagin announced each scholarship recipient. Pastor Ricky Temple, senior pastor at Overcoming by Faith Ministries in Savannah, was the luncheon’s guest speaker. He spoke about three ways to change bad times into good times while building your dreams, and the importance of believing, balancing and building. Jimmy DeLoach Jr., Abbie’s father and ADF president, took photos with the recipients and later addressed attendees about the importance of education and committing to excellence.
A sold-out audience of recipients, families, friends, coaches, and community and state leaders were present, including United States House Representative Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, Former Savannah Mayor Eddie DeLoach, State Senator Ben Watson, and State Congressional leader Representative Anne Allen Westbrook. Other elected officials who attended include Chatham County School Board President Roger Moss, and board members Reverend Paul E. Smith (VP, Pro Tempore, District 5) and Dr. Tonia Howard-Hall (District 8).
ADF was founded in memory of Abbie DeLoach, who died on April 22, 2015, due to a tragic highway crash that also took the lives of four fellow Georgia Southern nursing students. Abbie was dedicated to serving others as a student athlete, a prospective nurse and a person of faith. The foundation’s mission is to continue her good works and, to date, 127 individuals and organizations have received an ADF scholarship.
The outstanding and dedicated persons and organizations named in the ADF Scholarship Class of 2024 (by group and in alphabetical order) are:
Georgia Southern University
- Athletics: Catherine Hall (track and field) and Trevon Locke (football)
- Nursing: Gracie Fox, Ansley Gibbs, Chanel Paris, Kennedy Wesolowski
Savannah Christian Preparatory School
- Academics: James Stevens and Laney Grace Westbrook
Savannah State University
- Athletics: Austin Lewis (basketball); Clint Alexander Loyd (track and field); Zarria Smith (softball)
Savannah-Chatham County Public School System
Community:
- Advisor Kaney Balance and students Charlea Champion and Halaya Trosper, H.V. Jenkins High School's Family, Career and Community Leaders of America chapter
- Assistant Coach, Varsity Baseball Russell Perry for Islands High School’s staff wellness program
- School counselors Stephanie Glover and Ebony Lewis, and student Samantha Satlow, Marshpoint Elementary School
University of Georgia
- Mary Frances Early College of Education — Department of Kinesiology
- Academics: Mary Kathryn Shemwell and Lina Annshao Waldrop
- Mary Frances Early College of Education — Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education, and Department of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Education
- Academics: Kara Scoggins and Ethan Sinon
Quarterback Club of Savannah
- Athletics: RaKari Harrison (St. Andrew’s School) and Zoey Simmons (Woodville Tompkins High School)
Impact Abroad
- The Buena Vista Sports Academy (BVSA), a discipleship ministry in Quiché, Guatemala, that leverages soccer to reach challenging areas globally. John Mark Romans, Outreach Pastor from Compassion Christian Church in Savannah, Ga., accepted on behalf of BVSA’s President/CEO Brock Johnson and his wife, Kerri, in Quiché.
About the Abbie DeLoach Foundation
The Abbie DeLoach Foundation (ADF) is named for Savannah, Georgia, native Abbie DeLoach, one of five Georgia Southern University nursing students tragically killed in a tractor-trailer collision on April 22, 2015. ADF was founded by Abbie’s father, Jimmy DeLoach Jr., in 2016 as a nonprofit organization. ADF has proudly presented over $1.47 million in scholarships reflecting the qualities that exemplified her life — a love of nursing, education, athleticism and world missions. In addition, ADF has built an international home for women in Abbie’s name, with $90,000 invested in stopping the exploitation of women. The foundation’s mission is to continue Abbie’s legacy of selfless service to others, generosity, academic and athletic achievement, and compassion for all. ADF is headquartered in Savannah, Georgia. For more information, visit www.abbiedeloachfoundation.com
