Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 8/25/95
      Contact:                           Michelle Brouillette  125

SLU SCHOLARSHIP TO HONOR GINGER FORD
     HAMMOND -- Retired 21st Judicial District Judge Leon Ford III has established the
"Ginger Fortenberry Ford Homemaker Scholarship" through the Southeastern Louisiana
University Development Foundation to honor his late wife.
     The scholarship will be awarded to a female beginning freshman majoring in Family and
Consumer Science, with priority given to students choosing the concentration area of Vocational
Family and Consumer Science Education.  The scholarship will be awarded based on criteria
such as economic need, residency in Louisiana or Mississippi, academic average of 2.5 or higher,
participation in high school activities.  
     Family and Consumer Sciences majors who maintain a minimum 2.5 academic average
and full-time status can receive the scholarship for eight semesters.
     Ginger Ford came to Hammond in 1958 from Tylertown, Miss. as a student at SLU. She
and Judge Leon Ford have two children, Leon Ford IV and Helen Mable Dufreche. She was an
active member of the First Presbyterian Church in Hammond, where she sang in their choir and
served on the Board of Elders. Mrs. Ford was a charter member of the Hammond Junior
Auxiliary and was chairman and president of the Tangipahoa Area United Way. She was a past
director of the Southeastern Development Foundation. She was honored as the Outstanding
Woman of Hammond and was recognized  as one of "Hammond's First Five" for her innovative
and outstanding volunteer efforts.
     In a tribute to her unselfish acts of compassion, the local Habitat for Humanity chapter
was named the Ginger Ford Habitat for Humanity as a tribute to Ford's lifetime of providing
hopes, dreams and service to her community. Mrs. Ford was instrumental in bringing local
churches, banks, businesspeople and individuals together to form the chapter. The Ginger Ford
Habitat for Humanity is the only chapter in the United States named for an individual. 
     Mrs. Ford served on the board of directors for Citizen's National Bank for many years. A
bank annual report paid tribute to her enthusiasm, saying, she "embraced our community like an
extended family and has touched the lives of many through projects large and small. With
boundless energy, devotion to children and a genuine warmth, she has become a quiet champion
of the less fortunate -- one of those points of light that shine brightly as an example of what one
determined person can do to make a difference in their community."
     High school students who wish to apply for the Ginger Fortenberry Ford Homemaker
Scholarship should do so through their high school principal. Applications include a personal
letter from the applicant, letters of recommendation from the applicant's principal and a high
school teacher, and a high school transcript. The applications will be submitted to the
Southeastern Family and Consumer Sciences faculty. April 1 is the application deadline. 
     For additional information about the scholarship, contact the Southeastern Development
Foundation at 549-3770.
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