SOUTH COUNTY — Scheid Family Wines has announced the winners of the 2019 Scheid Writing Contest, which distributed $17,350 in scholarships this year to graduating seniors from King City and Greenfield high schools.
Now celebrating its 31st anniversary in Monterey County’s Salinas Valley, the program has donated a total of more than $340,000 in scholarships for local high school students.
“Scheid Family Wines has been sponsoring the Scheid Writing Contest for many years, as a way to support our community and give back to our local-area high schools,” said Heidi Scheid, executive vice president of Scheid Family Wines and a member of the annual judging team. “The idea to hold a writing contest started with my father, Al Scheid.”
The Scheid Writing Contest was originally created by Al Scheid in 1984 for his high school alma mater, Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio. He launched the contest to give back to the community and aid motivated high school students who wanted to attend college.
Four years later, convinced that the local schools in the Salinas Valley could benefit from the contest, Scheid brought it to King City High School. Greenfield High School — built on land that was formerly vineyards owned by Scheid — was added to the program in 2001.
According to Heidi Scheid, her father has always believed that the ability to communicate ideas effectively is the key to success. He created the writing contest to give students the opportunity to fully delve into a subject.
Each year, the student winners are chosen based on their ability to research and write a three- to five-page essay on a given topic. Past topics have included the legalization of marijuana, whether vaccines should be mandatory, the pros and cons of the Electoral College and immigration reform. Separate scholarships are awarded for each grade level.
This year’s topic was “The Effects of Social Media on Journalism.” Participants were asked to evaluate the positive and negative effects of information being spread so quickly through social networks. They were also asked to discuss the rise of citizen or “guerilla” journalists and their effects on traditional media.
“The winners this year did an excellent job tackling a difficult topic and we congratulate them on their achievement,” Heidi Scheid said.
The 2019 Scheid Writing Contest senior winners from King City High School were: Karina Aguirre, first place; Ivy Hearne, second place; Jessie Steele, third place; and Rachel Wilkens, fourth place. Senior winners from Greenfield High School were: Sandy Calderon, first place; Ruby Lara, second place; Crystelle Vargas, third place; and Adilene Bedolla, fourth place.
