Sky Jewell of Green County has been recognized for having the highest-scoring application among students who participated in this summer’s second session of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program.

Jewell, 16, a junior at Green County High School, was presented the Doug Reece Memorial Award at the Rogers Scholars graduation ceremony, held July 17 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 Jewell 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.

“Rogers Scholars has taught me so much and I will take these lessons back to my community, in an effort to make it a better place,” Jewell 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.”

Jewell 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 second summer session of Rogers Scholars. The second—and final—week of the program was held July 12-17, 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.

Jewell is the daughter of Tony and Robbyn Jewell of Greensburg.

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 Sky Jewell—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. Jewell, 16, a junior at Green 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.