The Taylorville Memorial Hospital Foundation announced the recipients of the Carolyn M. Butterfield Trust Nursing Scholarship and the John H. Butterfield Trust Agriculture and Nutrition Scholarship at its Signature Event fundraiser “Gifts of the Season” on Saturday, December 2 at the Pillars Event Center in Taylorville.
Erin Bradshaw of Pana was awarded the Carolyn M. Butterfield Trust Nursing Scholarship and Ethan Keiser of Nokomis was awarded the John H. Butterfield Agriculture and Nutrition Scholarship.
The first in her family to earn her bachelor’s degree, Erin Bradshaw attributes a mother’s love to her educational success. A mother to a five-year-old, she aspires to support her daughter’s education as her own mother has done for her. On December 9, Erin crossed the stage at Millikin University to receive her BSN and soon will start her nursing career within Memorial Health System at Memorial Medical Center’s 2G Surgical Unit. In the future, Erin would like to advance her education and clinical excellence by obtaining her master’s degree.
As a charter member of the St. Vincent Memorial Hospital Foundation, Carolyn Butterfield understood the importance of a rural hospital. Through her trust, Mrs. Butterfield provided an endowment that funds scholarships annually. It was her wish to financially assist Christian County students pursuing a career in healthcare especially in the field of nursing. “Her hope was to help reverse the shortage of these professionals in our service area,” says Raedena Ryan, executive director of the TMH Foundation. “Through her vision, nearly $23,000 has been awarded to 24 future and current healthcare providers from our community.”
As a little boy, Ethan Keiser recalls riding alongside his father as often as he could through the corn and soybean fields of Montgomery County. Fast forward to today and Ethan balances his passion for agriculture by pursing a double major in Ag Business and Agronomy at Illinois State and working on the farm. A graduate of Nokomis High School and Lincoln Land Community College, Ethan enjoyed success in soil competition in both FFA and Ag Club. As Ethan continues to learn and grow in the agriculture community, his ultimate goal is to return home and work on the family farm.
Agriculture remains one of the driving economic impacts in our local community and John Butterfield spent a lifetime promoting agriculture in Illinois and around the world. Raised on a farm in Christian County, John received a degree in mathematics from the University of Illinois and then taught high school for several years before working as an appraiser for the Farm Credit Administration. He returned to the family farm in 1940 and was actively involved with the American Soybean Association, National Corn Growers and Feed Grain Council. John served for many years on the local and state Advisory Conservation Board and was a strong advocate for soil conservation. “Established by the Butterfield family to honor their father for his years of hard work and dedication to agriculture, this scholarship is awarded to a young person preparing for a career in agriculture or nutrition, exemplifying John’s life-long interest in education,” says Ryan.
Applications for the 2018 Carolyn M. Butterfield Trust Nursing Scholarship and John H. Butterfield Agriculture and Nutrition Scholarship will soon to be available on the Taylorville Memorial Hospital’s website at TaylorvilleMemorial.org/Foundation.
The Taylorville Memorial Hospital Foundation is a nonprofit, incorporated as a 501(c)3. Organized in 1995, the TMH Foundation supports the Taylorville Memorial Hospital’s mission to improve the health of the people and communities it serves.