Franchise Owner Community Honors Those Seeking Higher Education for Their Service Excellence in Leadership
ATLANTA
The Spherion Owner Community announced today that the Excellence in Leadership Scholarship is open for applicants. The scholarship, named in honor of former Spherion President Sandy Mazur, highlights the contributions made during her distinguished 18-year career at Spherion.
The annual scholarship honors those seeking post-secondary education who best represent the qualities of excellence, leadership and passion that Sandy put forth daily during her tenure at Spherion. Her willingness to “go the extra mile” for others has inspired the network of owners to donate funds in her name to celebrate anyone aspiring to further their education with college, technical or skilled training. Candidates are required to have a 2.5 GPA or above, pursuing a continuing education program such as a 2-year institution, 4-year institution or trade school and must reside in a county with a local Spherion office.
“In 2020, we were inspired by the caliber of applicants and many of their responses. Over the past year, service excellence has come to mean so much more in the face of the pandemic,” said Mazur. “Even with so many downhearted and struggling, there were many who were willing to help ‘pay it forward’ and found a way to support their community. Those are the people we would like to honor to help them pursue further education.”
Last year’s Sandy Mazur Scholarship winners were Jaden Johnson and Ellie Furnish. A successful leader in her community, Furnish was captain of the varsity soccer team, nominated to be a Peer Tutor and led multiple retreats as a member of the 4.12 Leadership Training Program. Making time to tutor his basketball teammates and volunteer at various community events and food pantries, Johnson also created a permanent “Blessing Box” at a nearby church for community members to donate non-perishable food and toiletry items. Those faced with food insecurity could pick up items at any time for free.
“This scholarship helped me attend my dream school,” said Furnish. “It provided me with the opportunity to pay less for my college experience and get one step closer to my goals! If you’re thinking about applying, I would definitely recommend it. I'm so thankful for the Sandy Mazur Scholarship.”
The Spherion Owner Community, led by Michael Chalmers and Beth DeLaney, coordinated with nonprofit The Richland County Foundation, which disburses grants for charitable organizations, to host the application online. The application will ask entrants to share examples of their community service, how they’ve volunteered during the pandemic and how they “pay it forward” in their lives. With the names and locations removed, the Owner’s Community will review the applicants and, solely based on their merits, select the winner.
For more information or interested applicants, the Sandy Mazur Scholarship application is available online, at www.spherion.com/scholarship
To donate to the Sandy Mazur scholarship, please visit https://www.richlandcountyfoundation.org/donate/sandy-mazurspherion-excellence-in-leadership-scholarship.
About Spherion
Spherion, a leader in the recruiting and staffing industry with 75 years of experience, brings the power of local to its clients and candidates through a network of independent and empowered franchise owners. Backed by the drive and stability of the global leader in human resource services, Spherion is growing and evolving to tackle what is next for the emergent workforce. The company recently unveiled a striking new brand identity that reflects its successful growth to meet the needs of client companies and the emergent workforce. It also revealed a new purpose-driven tagline, “Let’s Get to Work.” Today, Spherion services the workforce needs of more than 4,000 businesses and operates more than 200 offices across the country.
To learn more about Spherion’s services, visit https://www.spherion.com. For information about the Spherion franchising opportunity, visit https://www.spherion.com/franchise/.
About the Richland County Foundation
The Richland County Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization, was established in 1945 as a way for individuals to pool and invest their gifts for the long-term good of Richland County and its residents.
The Foundation helps people in Richland County give back to their community by investing their gifts for charity wisely so that grants can be made to improve the quality of life for all the county’s citizens. Working together with donors, the Foundation meets important needs today and plans for a strong future.
For more information about the Richland County Foundation, please visit https://www.richlandcountyfoundation.org/.