Scholarships

Julia Jones Memorial Scholarship Fund
Proctor Stavres Scholarship

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Julia Jones Memorial Scholarship

The intent of the Julia Jones Memorial Scholarship is to provide financial assistance to persons wishing to attend the Abrahams-Jones Academy for Leadership Excellence, a program of the Florida Recreation and Park Association.

Julia Jones served as a parks and recreation professional for over 40 years. She served a number of Florida agencies over the three decades she worked in Florida. Julia retired in 2021 from the City of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where her historic family home was located. Shortly after her retirement Julia passed away, and a scholarship fund has been created to honor her commitment to creating and establishing the Academy.

History of Julia’s work on the Academy

FRPA began work developing the concept for a leadership academy to develop future Directors in 1996. Then FRPA President Elect, Julia Jones made this a priority and began conducting research on other state association programs. During her Presidency in 1998 Jones led a work group was named to develop the concept, curriculum, faculty, etc. In 2008, the first Abrahams Academy was held. Julia, after having spearheaded this initiative for ten years, shared the role of Lead Faculty with Karen Palus. They both served the Academy until 2012 when both left the State of Florida to pursue Director positions in Missouri and Colorado respectively.

Julia’s passion was assuring that parks and recreation was recognized as an integral part of every community. Her belief was the cornerstone of that effort was developing the professionals choosing this industry as a career. Her dedication culminated in the creation of the Academy and her desire was that it would continue in perpetuity.

The Julia Jones Memorial Scholarship is funded through designated donations to the Florida Recreation and Park Association Foundation.

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Proctor Stavres Scholarship

The intent of the Proctor Stavres Scholarship is to provide financial assistance to persons pursuing higher education in the fields of Parks and Recreation, Therapeutic Recreation, Leisure Services Administration, Natural Resource Management, Special Event Management or other field deemed relevant to the Parks, Recreation and Leisure Profession. Applicants may be enrolled full or part time in a graduate or undergraduate degree program. Applicants must be degree seeking or completing a recognized certificate program.

The Proctor Stavres Scholarship is funded through the Florida Recreation and Park Association Foundation.

Criteria for the Scholarship include:

Scholarship is only to be used for students who are from the State of Florida and pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in the areas above. Preference is given to students enrolled in Florida colleges/universities.
The scholarship can be applied towards the cost associated with Certificate programs, however these programs must be central to parks and recreation only.