Scholarship Fund to Honor Coach Bud Farmer

By Rob Butcher

ORLANDO, Florida, Sept. 6. IT has been 14 months since Coach Bud Farmer passed away. In that time, the Farmer family, and several ex-Bud Farmer-coached swimmers, have established a trust fund as a way to remember Coach Farmer.

The trust will award an annual scholarship to a student who demonstrates the ideals Coach Farmer lived by: 110% effort in school and extracurricular activities. The student also must demonstrate a need for such funds.

The scholarship is not intended for higher education, but for use in primary or secondary education. Coach Farmer’s 50-year belief and dedication to young people is evident in the number of lives he positively affected in the swimming community. People of all ages, particularly those he taught, coached and mentored, continue to express through cards, letters and passing comments how great an influence he was and the loss they feel now that he is gone.

The Farmer family is attempting to raise enough funds for the trust to be able to continue this scholarship effort in perpetuity. The goal is to raise $20,000 to be able to fund at least one scholarship per year. Currently, the trust has received about $3,000 in contributions.

Although the trust is not fully funded yet, it did award the First Annual Bud Farmer 110% Scholarship in May to Kristina Gracyzk, a senior-to-be at Father Lopez High School in Daytona Beach, Florida. Kristina has a 3.5 GPA and is involved in a half dozen extracurricular activities, including cross country. Kristina was selected blindly from all the entries. After meeting Kristina, she turned out to be an excellent choice.

For those swimmers and coaches who have known Coach Bud Farmer over the years and would like to make a contribution, please contact Mike Farmer. Mike can be reached at 386-274-5550 (work) and 386-673-6481 (home) or by e-mail at MandSFarms@shawus.com. All contributions are greatly appreciated.

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