Taryn Cantrell of Pike 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.

Cantrell, 16, a junior at Pikeville High School, was presented the Doug Reece Memorial Award on July 16 at an awards presentation in front of her graduating class at The Center in Somerset.

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 leadership and training, presented Cantrell 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.

“I truly believe that the Rogers Scholars program is an experience of a lifetime,” Cantrell said. “Every aspect of this program is absolutely amazing.”

“Being chosen as a Rogers Scholar 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.”

Cantrell was selected by The Center—which hosts and sponsors Rogers Scholars—to join 37 rising high school juniors from across Southern and Eastern Kentucky for the second and final session of the 2010 Rogers Scholars program.

A total of 73 high school students attended this summer’s sessions of Rogers Scholars held June 27-July 2 and again from July 11-16 on the campus of The Center, located at 2292 South U.S. 27 in Somerset.

It was the largest number of participants to graduate from Rogers Scholars in the history of the 12-year program.

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 beginning in 1995 and was board chairman at the time of his death in 2006.

Cantrell is the daughter of Larry and Kelli Thompson and Terry Cantrell of Pikeville.

The Center for Rural Development—the Center of Excellence for rural Kentucky and the nation—provides economic and community development programs to residents in a 42-county primary service area of Southern and Eastern Kentucky, and is home to several statewide and national technology-based programs. For more information on programs available through The Center, visit www.centertech.com.

Photo Caption: Lonnie Lawson, at right, president and CEO of The Center for Rural Development, and Jessica Melton, at left, associate director of leadership and training, present Rogers Scholar Taryn Cantrell—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. Cantrell, 16, a junior at Pikeville High School, also will receive a $250 scholarship to any in-state college or university through her receipt of the Doug Reece Memorial Award.