Each year, the Rockford Chamber of Commerce hosts their Annual Scholarship Golf Outing in July to raise funds for local area students to apply for scholarships. In 2022, the Chamber raised enough funds to award six $1,500 scholarships to 2023 graduating seniors.

For the past several years, the Chamber awarded four $1,500 scholarships and specified that scholarships are available to academic and trades students. With the RCC Scholarship Golf Outing exceeding expectations, we were able to offer six scholarships in 2023. The six scholarship recipients are Aliyah Denton, Paige Stites, Tristan Rop, Elizabeth Gardner, Maddelyn Nunn and Thomas McGovern.

“We are honored to continue awarding scholarships each year to these deserving students” states Executive Director, Linda Southwick. “When we started the Scholarship Golf Outing, we were able to award one $1,000 scholarship. It’s amazing to see how much this program has grown and we are grateful we can support these students in their future endeavors.”

Aliyah plans to study business with a psychology minor with the hopes of working in counseling, ministry or in the clinical industry. Aliyah also plans to play soccer while attending Indiana Wesleyan University.

Paige will be attending Michigan State University majoring in Biology. She intends to continue her education after MSU at Ferris State University to obtain a Doctorate of Optometric Science and join the family practice.

Tristan plans to attend Grand Rapids Community College for the automotive technician program and pursue a career in Auto Tech.

Elizabeth (Ellie) is exploring a degree in Biology at University of Alabama, Swarthmore, Brown or Johns Hopkins. While majoring in biology at one of these colleges, she will also pursue a minor in psychology or history.

Maddelyn (Maddy) will be attending Ferris State University to study Liberal Arts and explore art and history topics. Maddy also would like to minor in photography/film studies to become a wildlife and nature photographer.

Thomas plans to attend Michigan State University for the nursing program. He hopes to become a full-time registered nurse in a hospital after completing the program.

These students will be recognized again at the Honors Convocation in May. Congratulations to each of you and the Chamber wishes you the best moving forward!



The Chamber Annual Scholarship Golf Outing will be held at North Kent Golf Course on July 20, 2023. Applications for teams, as well as sponsorships, are available at www.rockfordmichamber.com