-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- , W 21 . 2 QQi'.Jltat o u t , 3 r T T iT T M ^ T in e w s hey were just two guys with an idea. Little did they know that 25 years later, their idea would still be going strong after raising more than $ 150,(XX) and helping dozens of stu­ dents with college tuition. As one recipient put it, “Wow, a scholarship just because I’m queer.” Well, there’s more to it than that, hut the Pride of the Rose Scholarship is for members of the sexual minorities community and their children. Most of the recipients have a specific career path and know exactly where they are going. Some are looking for a few more dollars to get them through their last semester. Most have been involved with the queer community and when they graduate are going to make it stronger and affect the greater Portland com­ munity as well. Rose Emperor V Frank Schreckenherger and Rose Empress XXI Allison Grey (aka Cur­ tis Meyers) established the scholarship as a gift to the community and city. They wanted to leave a legacy of their reign, which ended in October 1979. Since then they have seen the scholarship grow, evolve and weather tough times. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, most of the money the community raised went to helping people suf­ fering from the disease. But in a sad sort of way, Pride of the Rose complemented that, Grey says. “We had a lot of people applying who want­ ed to help with the AIDS situation,” he recalls. “There were lots of naturopathic medical stu­ dents or people who were pursuing psychology and other kinds of endeavors to help that battle." Dollar by dollar, the scholarship kept going. The amount of money and number of recipients have fluctuated, but the trend has always been on the positive side. Last year the fund gave away T he O ld C ollege T ry “There was so much sadness going on then, and we needed to have some fun," Schrecken­ herger explains. “We needed to laugh. It was a good stress release. And it’s been fun to have ever since.” Through the years word of the scholarship spread through fliers at bars, friends telling friends, blurbs in newspapers and the Internet. Casey Meredith heard about Pride of the Rose after meeting Schreckenherger through mutual friends. He received a share of the scholarship in 1998 and 1999— and just in time. A percentage of his tuition was due at Oregon Health Sciences University, hut his school loan hadn’t come through yet. It was down to the deadline. “If I hadn’t had that money, I would not have been able to stay in school,” says Meredith, a registered nurse for Multnomah County in pri­ mary care. “Receiving this scholarship was won­ derful. You really feel like the gay community is behind you. It’s money generated in this com­ munity, by my people, so it was just fabulous. Meredith gives back to the scholarship each year by attending various fund-raisers. He adds that the bulk of the cash collected comes from “$1 donations at drag shows.” “It was our idea,” Schreckenherger says. “But they are the people who have raised this kind of money and enable this to happen." J D Pride of the Rose Scholarship celebrates 25th anniversary by P at Young a record $12,000. This year the goal is $25,000,.and so far about $15,000 has been raised. 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