Page 9 - Palm City Spotlight - May '22
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Palm City Spotlight, Page 9
ScholarShip NewS
Warner Family Establishes in need, and of course, his beloved alma mater, the
The Thomas Warner University of Florida (UF).
In honor of Warner, his family has established the
Scholarship Under The UF Thomas Warner Scholarship under the Machen Florida
Opportunity Scholars (MFOS) program. The Tom Warner
Machen Florida Opportunity MFOS Scholarship will be awarded to a student from
Scholars Program Martin or Palm Beach County. The endowed scholarship
will be available each year.
“My husband was always concerned about supporting
Scholarship Earmarked For A Student From those who don’t have resources,” said Judge Martha
Martin Or Palm Beach County Warner, Tom’s wife of 46 years. “Tom was a UF double
To the outside world, Tom Warner was a highly accomplished gator, earning both his undergraduate and law degree
public figure as a former legislator and the state’s first solicitor from UF. We decided to tie his love of UF with his love
general. To those who knew him best, he was a champion of for the local community through a scholarship.” Tom Warner, state rep.
community, family, and often those less fortunate. The first Tom Warner MFOS Scholarship is expected to be District 82, 1996 Tom Warner, 2015
When the Warner family considered the best way awarded this fall, perhaps to a student from Clark Advanced
to honor his memory, they thought of his passions: his Learning Center, a charter high school he helped to establish Warner died on Jan. 11, 2019, after a long battle
community, his love of education, his support for people on the Martin County campus of Indian River State College. with cancer. He spent decades in public service as the
city attorney for Stuart, Fla., the state representative
for District 82 from 1992 to 1999, and the state’s first
solicitor general from 1999 to 2003. In that role, he
represented the state before the Florida Supreme Court
and the U.S. Supreme Courts.
“I think it’s a great tribute to Tom and what he
believed in,” said Carolyn Timman, clerk of court
for Martin County and Warner’s legislative aide. She
considers herself one of the many individuals who got
encouragement and mentorship from Warner.
As part of the UF MFOS Scholarship program, the
Tom Warner Scholarship will go to a first-generation,
low-income student from Martin or Palm Beach County.
The Warner Scholarship will help unlock opportunities for
other scholars as well as it will help UF obtain its match
needed to obtain an annual $400,000 from the Johnson
Scholarship Foundation.
“Our Machen scholars are so grateful to be Gators.
Because of Tom and the Warner family, the recipients
and their families’ lives will be forever changed with a
college degree from a top university like UF,” said Dr.
Leslie Pendleton, senior director of the Machen Florida
Opportunity Scholars Program.
Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarship recipients are
chosen from among first-generation, low-income students
accepted into UF. MFOS recipients are eligible to have
their award renewed each year.
The Bernie and Chris Machen Program, named for UF
President Emeritus Bernard J. Machen and first lady, Chris
Machen, celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2021. Each
year, the program funds and supports 1,250. For more
information about MFOS, please visit opportunity.ufl.edu.
For more information about the West Palm Beach-based
Johnson Scholarship Foundation, please visit jsf.bz.
See answer in this paper.