The Rotary scholarship recipients of the graduating class of 2024 were the special guests at Winnfield Rotary Club’s meeting on June 19, 2026.

The Thomas H. Harrel Memorial Scholarship, available to any graduating senior in Winn Parish, was awarded to Bailey Lenard, a graduate of Winnfield Senior High. Bailey plans to attend LSU and plans to major in chemistry. During her high school years, Bailey was active in Future Business Leaders of America, Future Farmers of America, a Tiger mentor, a Beta Club officer, a manager of the football and track teams, and the sports media photographer. She represented WSHS at Louisiana Girls’ State and attended Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp. Bailey was a member of the Youth Volunteer Corps and volunteered at local festivals, for church projects collecting food and making care packages for people in need, hurricane relief, and helped with a community garden. Although Bailey struggles with a neurological condition called dysgraphia, causing her difficulty with recall of thing she already learned and had to work harder than other students to achieve her goals, she clearly succeeded in reaching academic as well as social and community goals.

Rotary’s Lawrence White Memorial Scholarship, available only to seniors graduating from WSHS, went to Olivia Busha. Olivia was active in 4-H, FFA, Anchor, FBLA, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Student Council, and was a manager of the softball team as well as a Tiger mentor. She served on the 4-H advisory council, as a counselor at the 4-H STEM camp and Challenge church. She racked up 480 community service hours and received a Community Service Endorsement on her diploma. Olivia is the embodiment of Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self! She plans to attend Northwestern in the fall and major in radiology, which she chose because of her personal struggle with a thyroid disorder called Hashimoto Disease.

Rotary’s Don Purser Memorial Scholarship is available only to graduating seniors in Winn Parish who will be attending a Community & Technical College and pursuing certification in a trade. This year’s award went to David Thomas Cotton, III, known as T. J. by family and friends, a graduate of Calvin High School. T. J. is a member of 4-H and is a top competitor in pistol and archery. He volunteers to help the younger kids with their pistol and archery training. This year, he qualified for the national 4-H shooting competition. T. J. has been in dual enrollment at Calvin and CLTCC, training in welding for the last three years and will therefore graduate a year earlier than his classmates. He plans to attend BPCC in Natchitoches and pursue a career as a millwright, building on his welding training and his natural mechanical talent.