2007 Winners Announced! See Below.

The Dodie and David Riach Memorial Scholarship

The North Jersey Chapter of the Ninety-Nines awards the Dodie and David Riach Memorial Scholarship annually to as many as three pilots, or student pilots, who are pursuing flight training in New Jersey. Each scholarship is valued at $1,800, and must be used for flight training. Application forms become available online at this site and in most New Jersey airports in the Summer. The awards are presented at the Chapter's annual holiday dinner in December.

Purpose of the Scholarship: The Scholarship is awarded to a pilot or student pilot in recognition of an earnest desire to further his or her aviation achievements.

Governing Body: The Scholarship Committee is composed both of Ninety-Nines and of active members of the aviation community who have no connection to the Ninety-Nines.

Eligibility: Any pilot or student pilot, of any gender, who is training in New Jersey, is eligible to apply for the Scholarship.

Application Procedure: Applicants must submit to the North Jersey Chapter of the Ninety-Nines: a completed application form, a short essay, a letter of recommendation, and other documentation described in the application form. Completed applications must be postmarked no later than October 29, 2007 for the December 2007 award. Download the application form here.

Selection Criteria: The Scholarship Committee will review each application, and choose one or more recipients based on criteria that will include appropriateness of goals and relative need. Only complete applications will be considered.

Time Limit: Each recipient must use the award within the period from its receipt through December 1, 2008.

Method of Payment: Recipients are paid monthly in arrears. Recipients must first pay for their flight training, and then submit monthly expense reports and receipts for audit, approval, and reimbursement by the Scholarship Chair.

For more information, contact Annamary McCann at nj99scholarship@earthlink.net, or write to:
Annamary McCann, Scholarship Chair
Dodie and David Riach Memorial Scholarship
P.O. Box 165
Suffern, NY 10901

Contributions to the Scholarship Fund are tax deductible, and always welcome!

The Amelia Earhart Scholarship

The Ninety-Nines, Inc., International Organization of Women Pilots awards the annual Amelia Earhart (AE) Scholarship to deserving 99s with at least one year of membership, and with a need for financial assistance, so that they may complete advanced training and education to progress toward a specific goal in aviation and aerospace.

For more information, see The Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarships and Awards, or contact Lorna Mack, AE Scholarship Chair by email at hillarypl@juno.com.

2007 Scholarship Winners

The Dodie Riach Memorial Scholarship was set up in 1996 to help aspiring pilots and student pilots meet their aviation goals. So far we have awarded 32 scholarships, totaling over $50,000. We have just added 3 more recipients to that impressive total. This year, each recipient receives $2,000 which is used towards the costs involved in their aviation education. The group of applicants we had this year (2007), were some of the best we have ever received, and the selection committee had a really tough time deciding the winners. Eventually they all agreed on the following three, very deserving people.

L to R: Robin Kim, Kathleen DeFilippo, Ute Stenkamp.

First is Kathleen DeFilippo. Kathleen has dreamed of becoming a pilot ever since she watched planes soar overhead at the Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado where her Father was in the services. After moving to NJ in 1992, she had limited exposure to airplanes and flying, but still kept that dream inside her. Eventually Kathleen decided to do something about her dreams, and enrolled for an Aviation Flight Technology degree at Mercer County Community College where she is a member of their flight team. She was a volunteer in this years NIFA Region 7 SAFECON competition. Mercer County Community College placed first for the fourth year in a row. Her goal is to get her Private license and to begin training for the National Competition which will be held in 2008. After that, Kathleen hopes to continue her ratings until she eventually becomes a CFI. She even plans on earning her Single and Multi-Engine Sea ratings as well. Being one of seven children, finances are stretched to the limit. Consequently, each child in the family has been given the responsibility of paying for their own education which, in Kathleen's case, includes flight training. Hopefully this scholarship will help ease her financial burdens, so that she can achieve her goals.

Our next recipient is Robin Kim. Luckily Robin has experience with the Civil Air Patrol which has afforded him the opportunity to fly using CAP aircraft. Although the CAP flight instructors offer their services for free, the aircraft rental time is not free. The money he has won from this scholarship will go towards paying for that rental time so that he can earn his Private Pilot License. Robin has applied to, and been accepted to, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where he hopes to major in either Aeronautical Science (Professional Pilot), or in Aviation Business Administration. It is Robin's eventual goal to become a CFI which will enable him to become a CAP Orientation Flight Pilot. This way he will be able to help other young cadets experience the joys of flight, and hopefully, will inspire them to learn to fly too.

Our final winner is Ute Stenkamp. Ute came from Germany with her family in 1984. She already had her Private License, and spent the next 18 years moving around the US with her husband who was a helicopter pilot in the Army. It was during this time that she gave up her own dream of becoming a professional pilot, and due to unforeseen circumstances, stopped flying altogether. After her divorce 4 years ago, she knew that she had to get back into flying. She took a ground school refresher course, obtained her advanced ground instructor certificate, and in June 2004 passed her BFR after having not flown for almost 20 years. As a divorcee, her income is modest, but through the generosity of friends, she has been able to continue her flying, earning her tail-dragger endorsement, completing her instrument rating and commercial license, and also her multi-engine commercial add-on. Ute is a member of the Ninety-Nines, AOPA, MAPA, and Women in Aviation. She will use the scholarship money to help her obtain her ultimate goal, that of flight instructor.

The Dodie Riach Memorial scholarships would not be available if it were not for the generosity of other pilots, people in aviation, and the general public, who not only donate privately, but also through the support of our annual fund raisers. Thank you everyone for your generosity over the years in giving what you can to the scholarship fund. Without you, these three people, and all the other recipients, would not have been able to live their dreams!