Brandi Howard of Magoffin County has been recognized for having the highest-scoring application among students who participated in this summer’s first session of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program.

Howard, 16, a junior at Magoffin County High School, was presented the Doug Reece Memorial Award at the Rogers Scholars graduation ceremony, held July 3 at The Center in Somerset at the conclusion of the one-week program.

The award is presented in memory of the late Doug Reece, a prominent attorney in Southern and Eastern Kentucky and former chairman of the executive committee of The Center’s board of directors.

Lonnie Lawson, president and CEO of The Center, and Jessica Melton, associate director of education and training, presented Howard with a handcrafted Appalachian dulcimer donated by Dr. Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. She also will receive a $250 scholarship to any in-state college or university as part of the award.

“This experience has meant a lot to me, and I will use the lessons learned at Rogers Scholars to benefit my community,” Howard said.

“Being chosen as a Rogers Scholars is an honor for the students, their schools, and their communities, as it is a highly competitive, blinded selection process,” Melton added. “These students truly represent the best and brightest minds in our region.”

Howard was selected by The Center—which hosts and sponsors Rogers Scholars—to join 30 rising high school juniors from across Southern and Eastern Kentucky for the first of two summer sessions of Rogers Scholars. The opening week was held June 28-July 3, culminating with an awards program and recognition of graduates on the final day of the session.

The Center’s board of directors created the Doug Reece Memorial Award and scholarship in his name to recognize one Rogers Scholar from each of the summer’s two graduating classes. Reece served on the board of directors from 1995 through 2005 and was board chairman at the time of his death in 2006.

Howard is the daughter of Steve and Vickie Howard of Salyersville.

Photo Caption: Lonnie Lawson, left, president and CEO of The Center for Rural Development, and Jessica Melton, right, associate director of education and training, present Rogers Scholar Brandi Howard—recipient of the Doug Reece Memorial Award—with a handcrafted Appalachian dulcimer donated by Dr. Bruce Ayers, president of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. Howard, 16, a junior at Magoffin County High School, also will receive a $250 scholarship to any in state college or university through her receipt of the Doug Reece Memorial Award.