The thirtieth Anniversary Celebration of The Warren “Billy” Cherry Scholarship Fund drew approximately 250 people to the Evanston Golf Club at 4401 Dempster St. in Skokie.
“For 30 years, this community has been supporting The Warren “Billy” Cherry Scholarship Fund,” said Fund President Bob Reece of Skokie. “It is just phenomenal. It is just amazing.”
Bob Reece’s wife and Warren “Billy” Cherry’s sister Patty Cherry Reece, fund chairman, said of the 30 year anniversary, “It’s a very big deal for us.”
Warren “Billy” Cherry of Evanston was an educator and community leader who transitioned from barber school to higher education and studied at Northwestern University towards a PhD. His service to the Evanston community included active participation in schools and on numerous boards. The fund in his name assists Evanston Township High School graduates.
In 1993, one $2,500 scholarship was given and in 2023, the fund awarded 23 scholarships totaling $130,000 at the awards dinner held last April.
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Over three decades, Bob Reece said the fund has given out over $1 million.
“We’ve given 330 awards over the 30 years,” Patty Cherry Reece said.
The end goal, according to Bob Reece, is to endow the fund so $150,000 can be given out yearly.
“The reason why we exist and have existed for the 30 years is because of the phenomenal, phenomenal support from the community,” Bob Reece added.
In 1990, Warren “Billy” Cherry died of lung cancer at 47.
“He was a fun guy to be around,” Bob Reece said of his brother-in-law. “He was about service.”
Secretary of the fund Sandy Vitantonio of Winnetka said Warren “Billy” Cherry was, “so much fun,” and was a good friend.
“He was the principal of Lincoln School, beloved by the community and the students and it was such a loss to lose him that we wanted to do something special in his memory and the scholarship seemed like a wonderful thing to do,” Vitantonio said. “He would be very proud. It’s a wonderful memory.”
Vitantonio called the scholarships life changing and said the recipients are doing wonderful things for the community to pass it forward.
Gerri Sizemore, an Evanston resident since 1960 and fund board member, said the 30th year celebration is fantastic.
“This is a great organization and I believe in the mission,” Sizemore said.
To be eligible to receive an award, an applicant must be an ETHS graduate or have attended ETHS and earned a GED. Applicants must be pursuing an associate, bachelor’s or graduate degree in education or youth work with enrollment hour requirements.
Janet Alexander Davis of Evanston is a volunteer and grew up with Warren Cherry and Patty Cherry Reece.
“It’s a wonderful, wonderful organization, can you imagine that they’ve done this for 30 years with no paid staff?” Alexander Davis said. “That’s a wonder.”
Attendee Peg Boggs, formerly of Evanston and now of Eugene, Oregon, said of the organization, “I’m so impressed with what they’ve done.”
Four year scholarship recipient Anamaria Rosales of Grayslake, a 2014 ETHS graduate, grew up in Evanston. Rosales is a 2018 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I actually teach in Evanston now so that’s been my way of giving back to the community,” said Rosales, who teaches first grade and she hopes to one day teach future Cherry scholars.
Attending ETHS was a privilege, Rosales said, affording the opportunity of all the connections she made while there.
“I’m a first generation student so it was just great feeling that support getting to college but also through college,” Rosales said. “People from Cherry would reach out all the time, just to make sure things were going well, offering support whenever needed.”
Leila Lemieux-Jordan, also of Evanston, said being a four time Cherry scholarship recipient was extremely important to her achieving her educational goals.
“It’s been able to provide me an education while being able to work and provide for myself and my family and just pursue my dreams, basically,” Lemieux-Jordan said.
Lemieux-Jordan, a 2017 ETHS graduate, is studying to become a special educator in elementary education. Lemieux-Jordan is a school paraprofessional and a student at Oakton Community College.
“Thank you,” Lemieux-Jordan said to the fund. “Thank you so much for believing in educators like me and giving us the opportunity to become educators and encouraging us and supporting us, especially those who may not be able to afford it.
“Education is a foundation for a future,” Lemieux-Jordan said.
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Visit https://cherryscholarship.org.
Karie Angell Luc is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.