Vantagepoint Memorial Scholarships Awarded to 27 Survivors of Public Sector Employees

The Vantagepoint Public Employee Memorial Scholarship Fund (the “Fund”) Board of Directors has met and approved the 2005/2006 Scholarships to be awarded to 27 surviving children or spouses of public sector employees who died in the line of duty.

The Fund, which has grown every year since it was founded in 2001 by ICMA-RC, is dedicated to the principle that public sector employees, who give so much to their communities and who pay the ultimate price for their service, should have greater security through education scholarships for their survivors.

“We believe that that there can be no better cause than to help survivors of public service employees who pay the ultimate price,” said Joan McCallen, President of the Fund and CEO and President of ICMA-RC. “This will allow them to pursue their education and help rebuild their lives after such a tragic loss.”

At a special scholarship award luncheon scheduled on June 21 in San Mateo, California, McCallen will announce the recipients of the 2005/06 scholarship awards. This year’s scholarship recipients will be honored at this special event as well as award winners from previous years. Officials from the public sector, scholarship partners, scholarship donors and ICMA-RC executives will also attend.

“Since ICMA-RC provides retirement planning and services solely to the public sector,” McCallen said, “this scholarship program is an obvious way for us to join with our financial services partners, individual donors and other public sector focused organizations and emphasize our commitment to this community.”

Scholarship applicants are identified through a variety of sources including participating employers of ICMA-RC, the National Fraternal Order of Police, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. and the National Forum for Black Public Administrators. The Fund is a Section 501(c)(3) public charity founded by the ICMA-RC in 2001. Since its inception, the Fund has provided 87 students with scholarships worth $340,000. Financial support for the scholarships is provided by ICMA-RC, a not-for-profit corporation and provider of retirement plans exclusively for the public sector, and its financial services partners and vendors.

Applications for the 2006/07 Scholarships will be accepted from Jauary 1–March 31, 2006. Information can be found at www.vantagescholar.org.