BAY MINETTE — Local school teacher

Gerri McDonald with the gifted programs at

Perdido Elementary/Middle School will be awarded

the 2010 Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship at the Alabama

Humanities Foundation’s annual fall luncheon Monday, Sept. 13.

This scholarship will support her

professional development and classroom enhancements in history and

civics. Generously funded by Edgar and Louise Welden of Birmingham,

the scholarships honor the memory of Jenice Riley, the late

daughter of Gov. Bob Riley and his wife, Patsy. Jenice Riley’s

dedicated passion for teaching and devotion to community helped

ensure a quality education for our state’s youth.

This year’s recipients will be

awarded their scholarships at a patron’s reception held prior to

the luncheon. They include:

• Takisha Durm, a

  sixth-grade teacher at PACE Alternative Education in Huntsville

• Cheryl Evans Hall, a

  third-grade teacher at Lacey’s Spring School

• Diane Henderson, a

  fourth-grade teacher at East Lawrence Middle School in Trinity

• Mary Elizabeth Lee,

  a sixth-grade teacher at New Market Elementary School

• Gerri McDonald,

  gifted programs at Perdido Elementary/Middle School

• Beverly Robinson, a

  fourth-grade teacher at Crossville Elementary School

The Alabama Humanities Foundation

awards the Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship to Alabama teachers

looking to further their professional development through this

$1,000 award that helps them attend a seminar or institute,

purchase classroom materials, or offer students a field trip. These

six recipients were chosen from a pool of applicants based on their

proposed spending of the scholarship money to improve their

teaching abilities and create a more effective classroom

environment.

The Jenice Riley Memorial Scholarship

honors Jenice Riley’s passion for teaching and her ability to

infuse her students with creativity and a desire to learn. Through

her work as a kindergarten teacher, Riley displayed an infectious

zest for life affecting those around her, both young and old. She

inspired her students, encouraged parents to get involved in their

children’s education and actively promoted better educational

programs and disciplines within her community. Her passion is

mirrored in the recipients of the Jenice Riley Memorial

Scholarship, and the Alabama Humanities Foundation is honored to

recognize them with this award.

The Alabama Humanities Foundation’s

annual awards luncheon will be held Monday, Sept. 13, 2010, in

Birmingham at the Wynfrey Hotel from 12-1:30 p.m. All members of

the public are invited to attend.

The luncheon will honor Edgar Welden

as the 2010 Alabama Humanities Award recipient, as well as the

Robert R. Meyer Foundation and a special recognition of the Rev.

Fred Lee Shuttlesworth. Author and chief legal correspondent for

CBS News Jan Crawford will deliver the keynote address.

About the Alabama Humanities

Foundation

The Alabama Humanities Foundation

(AHF) is a nonprofit organization funded by the National Endowment

for the Humanities (of which AHF is the state affiliate), as well

as by corporate and individual donors. AHF is dedicated to the

promotion and celebration of the humanities throughout the state of

Alabama and, to that end, conducts its own statewide programs and

awards grants, on a competitive basis, to nonprofit organizations

for humanities projects. For more information on AHF programs,

please call (205) 558-3980, or

"http://ahf.net">ahf.net.