Scholarship

"Todd Denson Memorial Scholarship" Foundation

MAJ. TODD S. DENSON
Call Sign: Cuddles
Died: February 3, 2001

Denson, 32, son of an Army chaplain, grew up in an era when young men were lured into military aviation by the movie "Top Gun".
He enlisted after graduating from the University of Tennessee.

He wanted to fly the F/A-18, which he considered a safer plane, said his widow, Melissa Denson Rankin, but he quickly became a Harrier enthusiast after being assigned to the AV-8B. He had some close calls in the Harrier before his fatal accident.

He had been flying the Harrier for a decade and had been an instructor for two years, yet he kept emergency procedures written on flash cards and studied them constantly, Rankin said. "He knew it was a dangerous plane and he took it very seriously."

He died when he and his student, Capt. Jason K. Meiners, lost control of the two-seat training Harrier they were flying to their base at Cherry Point. Denson, in the rear seat, ejected too close to the ground. Meiners was also killed in the accident. In was unclear which pilot had control.

Purpose

This scholarship opportunity was created by the New Bern Breakfast Rotary Club in memory of deceased and former Rotarian Maj. Todd S. Denson to assist graduating college-bound seniors with their advancement in professional, educational, and technical learning opportunities. Since 2001, the Breakfast Rotary Club has awarded a total of $29,000 in scholarship funding to graduating seniors from Craven and Carteret, both North Carolina Counties, in memory of his "Service Above Self". Each year, approximately 8 individual students are selected and awarded scholarships of $1,000 each by the Rotary Club. Students are selected by a panel of Rotary members based upon information gathered from completed applications, which concentrate on grades, community activities, extracurricular activities,
among other things.

Application Process

Applications can be obtained for this scholarship by clicking the link above. If unable to download the application, you can contact the club by attending one of the weekly meetings at the Golden Corral, located at the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd. and Hotel Blvd. in New Bern on Thursday mornings at 7:30 a.m.

Applications should be submitted by addressing an envelope to:

New Bern Breakfast Rotary Club
Attn: Todd Denson Scholarship Committee
James Hoffman Jr.
P.O. Box 14625
New Bern, NC 28561

All applications must be received prior to April 1st each year for consideration.

Winners Ben Avolis, Kelsey Bennett, Noelle Dalhouse,
Holly Laford, Ally Pollock, Brooke Saunders and
Erin Van Kleek.

Thank you for visiting, and we hope to see you
at the next Rotary meeting.