Scholarship Opportunities

Louise Bernard Scholarship

Louise Bernard can be described as an educator, author, businesswoman, trainer and pioneer leader. She began her career at the University of Texas and then studied at the University of Pittsburg Research Bureau for Retail Training, staying on at the end of her studies to work as a staff personnel consultant with larger stores throughout the country. Then in 1937, while employed at Macy’s Department Store in New York, Waynesboro called for help. A new plant had just opened in Waynesboro, bringing in a lot of new money to local employees. Little of this money was being returned to Waynesboro, and the merchants were very concerned. Miss Bernard spent three months in Waynesboro analyzing the situation and educating local merchants and consumers about the wholesale-retail-service buying process. The three-month experiment was the basis for the establishment of the Virginia Distributive Education program. After leaving Waynesboro, Miss Bernard was employed to establish the School of Distribution at Richmond Professional Institute, now Virginia Commonwealth University. From there, she was employed as the first Virginia Supervisor of Distributive Education at the VA Department of Education, where she provided over 20 years of service. 

Under her leadership, 85.5 percent of Virginia high schools offered Distributive Education while nationally only 53.8 percent of high schools offered the program. She was an advocate for providing adult training in each business community in which a high school program was offered. She was known for the establishment of small business management clinics in cooperation with the Small Business Administration. The professional accomplishments of this pioneer included recognition not only by educators but also by the Virginia Retail Merchants Association and the National Retail Merchants Association.

She established the DECA youth organization in the Commonwealth and held the first Virginia DECA State Leadership Conference in Richmond in 1944. She also provided leadership for the establishment of National DECA in which Virginia was one of the charter members. She provided leadership for the incorporation of National DECA in Virginia and served as president of National DECA, Inc. during the first five years of the organization. Under her leadership, Virginia helped to provide funding for the first executive secretary at the national headquarters. Ms. Bernard also provided direction for the local planning committee for the 1955 National DECA Conference held in Richmond. In addition, she established DECA scholarships for students so they could continue their education, with one scholarship funded by the Virginia Retail Merchants Association continuing for over 40 years.

When Ms. Bernard received praise, she was the first to say that Distributive Education is bigger than any one individual, and that the success of the program had been the result of individuals being ready and willing to assume positions of leadership when they occurred.

Louis Spilman Scholarship

Louis Spilman was the chairman of the Waynesboro business committee that contacted the Virginia Department of Education for assistance in providing training for retail merchants so that the payroll for a large industry stayed within the business community. The Virginia Department of Education was known for providing training for industries across the state. The Department of Education secured the services of Miss Louise Bernard to aid the business community in Waynesboro. This began a professional relationship with Mr. Spilman, the publisher and editor of the local newspaper in Waynesboro, and that continued until her retirement and death. Through the collaborative efforts of Ms. Bernard, Mr. Spilman and other business leaders, they conducted surveys of merchants and the local community, and a training program was developed for management and employees in Waynesboro. Two Distributive Education programs were developed, one for the high school and an adult training program for merchants known as the Small Business Management Clinics. Mr. Spilman and Miss Bernard worked well together, and through their efforts the Distributive Education program began in Virginia. When Miss Bernard died, Mr. Spilman wrote in his column “The Old Armchair” the following: “It is not easy to lose a friend but, thank God, we have not lost Louise Bernard. We have simply gained an inspired memory. She personified devotion, dedication and application to a lifetime goal. She constructed higher planes of service in the retail field. She inspired hundreds of young people to make this their life’s work. Humbly we bow before the monument she has constructed. What greater tribute can be paid than to utter fervent thanks to this remarkable woman who contributed so much to Virginia and to the nation?”

Lucy Crawford Scholarship

Lucy Crawford’s career spanned a period of almost 40 years, beginning when federal legislation provided the first funding for training in the field of distribution. Her early days were spent in the South Carolina program, but in 1957, she was lured to Virginia to provide leadership for the teacher education program at Virginia Tech. Through her direction, Distributive Education at Virginia Tech became one of the strongest programs in the nation for the training of secondary teachers as well as teacher educators across the nation. Mrs. Crawford’s research on the jobs in distribution served as the base for the development of the competency-based approached to Distributive Education and teacher education. This research also provided the foundation for the development of the IDECC system (MarkED) and its materials, the DECA competency based events, many curriculum designs, and instructional materials for teacher education programs. 

Mrs. Crawford was a distinguished professor, teacher, consultant, researcher, author, and national leader. She established one of the first DECA chapters in the nation, served on the National Advisory Board of DECA, and developed some of the very first DECA competitive events. She received many awards throughout her distinguished career to recognize her leadership in the Distributive Education program.

James Horan Scholarship

James Horan was the youngest person ever to begin professional employment with the Virginia Department of Education. He provided over 39 distinguished years of service prior to his retirement. His special contributions to the growth and development of Vocational Education (now known as Career and Technical Education) and more specifically, Marketing Education, are well recognized and documented. 

He began his career in a regional office located in Pulaski, where he served as an adult instructor responsible for training veterans. He then became an area supervisor before coming to serve in the state office in Richmond. Mr. Horan was selected to replace Louise Bernard, the state supervisor and founder of our program, upon her retirement. At that occasion, Ms. Bernard said, “For over eighteen years, James Horan, Jr. has patiently studied his role for this great moment. Under his leadership we will have the strength and experience of one who is tops in the nation. At every turn he has proven his ability.” Under Mr. Horan’s leadership, the Distributive Education program expanded with new specialized options, student enrollments more than doubled from 9,000 to 18,000, and the adult program continued to grow, serving over 38,000 students in one year. He was instrumental in developing standards for both the high school program as well as the adult program. He implemented competency-based education, with appropriate curriculum guides for all programs offered within the marketing discipline. Under his leadership, Distributive Education became known as Marketing Education. 

Mr. Horan also served in a number of leadership positions nationally, including chairman of National DECA Board for two terms as well as being the secretary. He received the highest honor available to any marketing professional at the AVA (now ACTE) in New Orleans in 1984 when he received the DEPHA. He also was recognized by the Small Business Administration for Virginia’s adult program Small Business Management Institute. Mr. Horan served as a consultant to many states on marketing as well as the development of a strategic plan. He was a true educator, leader, planner, and organizer of people who always put the education of students and adults as his first priority. He was a dedicated professional, who developed a dynamic marketing program that has served hundreds of thousands of young people and adults. Marketing Education was a labor of love for Mr. Horan, who dedicated his life to making this program the best in the nation.

Dianne Tremblay Scholarship

As a student, Dianne Tremblay was a Virginia DECA member at Granby High School in Norfolk and a collegiate DECA member at Old Dominion University. She began her teaching career at Washington & Lee High School in Westmoreland County, where she taught Distributive Education (marketing) for 11 years before becoming a regional adult training coordinator for Marketing Education. In this adult training position, she taught and developed classes for adult learners in the business community. 

After serving as an instructor for three years, she became a DECA specialist for the next three years. In cooperation with the Sheraton Hotel (Fredericksburg), she established a regional hotel/marketing program at James Monroe High School in 1990. The program served students in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties. In 1993, she became the marketing coordinator at James Monroe High School (Fredericksburg) where she remained until her retirement in 2003. Dianne served in a number of marketing leadership positions, including president of the Virginia Association of Marketing Educators, chairman of the Policy and Planning Committee of Virginia DECA, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Virginia DECA, as well as chairman of the Virginia DECA Foundation. In 1993, she was recognized as the Virginia Association of Marketing “Education Teacher of the Year,” and the same year, in a joint resolution, the General Assembly also acknowledged her contributions to career and technical education. She was also recognized for her leadership in Virginia DECA by being presented an Honorary Life Membership Award. 

Dianne’s dedication to her students provided them with opportunities to be involved in civic, leadership, social and vocational activities and to gain valuable experiences for lifelong learning through the local DECA chapter, which received numerous state awards. She was instrumental in a number of her students’ receiving scholarships. Dianne was a leader within the marketing program and was a mentor to many new teachers entering the profession. She is the only individual who has served as a classroom teacher, adult training and development coordinator, and DECA specialist.

Elwood Roche Memorial Scholarship

Sponsored by the Virginia Association of Marketing Educators (VAME).
Elwood Roche began his career in Distributive Education at Turner Ashby High School in Rockingham County, where he established the need for Distributive Education in a rural comprehensive high school. In 1966, Elwood was employed as the Northern Area Supervisor for Distributive Education. In addition to his area supervisory responsibilities, Elwood assumed other assignments for the effective operation of the marketing program statewide. These included Adult education where he served as the staff liaison with the Adult Training and Development Council; curriculum development where he worked with the apparel and accessories curriculum as well as the hotel marketing curriculum; Marketing Education Advisory Committee where he served as the staff consultant along with the associate director; and DECA where he served as the state officer advisor and was responsible for the training of state officers prior to the hiring of a DECA specialist. 

Elwood was a dedicated professional who always fought for what he thought was right for the students in Virginia and for the coordinators in his area and throughout the state. After his retirement in 1991 with 25 years of distinguished service, he remained active with VAME in summer conference planning and also served as a judge in the selection of the “Marketing Teacher of the Year.”

Ike Baughman Scholarship

Sponsored by the Virginia Association of Retired Marketing Educators (VARME).
I. W. (Ike) Baughman served as Virginia’s Central and Western Area Marketing Supervisor for over 30 years. He began his career in Distributive Education as a coordinator at West Point High School and later became the supervising coordinator in Waynesboro then the city supervisor in Roanoke. Prior to becoming a Distributive Education coordinator and supervisor at the local then state level, he taught at Ferrum Junior College. He served as the state advisor for Virginia DECA where he made great contributions in refining and clarifying standards and procedures for DECA and compiling that information into the State Contest Manual. In his role as state advisor, Ike was elected to the National Board of Directors for DECA in the early 1970s and was also on the National DECA Board when the national headquarters was conceived and funds appropriated for the building of the National DECA Center in Reston, re-located from Arlington, VA. 

Ike was known for his expertise in the marketing curriculum, and he provided the direction and assistance in the development of the Fundamentals of Marketing course when the vocational act provided the opportunity for the use of the occupational experience method of instruction versus the occupational training of students. Ike received numerous awards during his career in marketing including the Virginia DECA Honorary Life Membership Award. He served as the staff consultant to both leadership groups in Virginia DECA, the Policy and Planning Committee and the Board of Trustees. After his retirement, Ike long remained active in serving as a “Marketing Teacher of the Year” judge and continues to remain active in the Virginia Association of Retired Marketing Educators.