Scholarship Information
George E. Howatt Scholarship | |
|---|---|
| Maximum Amount: | $5,300 |
| Faculty: | Business |
| Status: | Grad Studies at UPEI |
| Application Form: | Application Form |
| Deadline: | 30-Jun |
| Occasion: | Awarded at various times throughout the year |
| Process: | Selected by Faculty of Business Scholarship Committee |
| Scholarship Type: | Award |
| Description: | Awarded to a student entering UPEI's MBA program and based on academic record, professional accomplishments, demonstrated leadership ability, and potential interview. |
| Background: | This scholarship was established by Ralph Hostetter, in memory of George Howatt, his friend and business colleague. George Howatt (1912-1988) and Jean, his wife of 50 years, spent their life farming the family farm in French River. He operated a mixed farm growing potatoes, grain, cole crops, cucumbers as well as having dairy and beef cattle, hogs, turkeys, ducks, chickens and as a 'hobby' honey bees. Hostetter once said 'If I was a farmer on PEI, I would wake up in the morning and look at what George Howatt was doing and I would do the same thing". In addition to farming, George was involved in several initiatives to promote the potato industry on PEI. He became a Director of the Potato Producers Association on PEI in 1954. Individuals who worked with him recall that he was exceptional in his understanding of the legislation and frequently was asked to interpret it for others, especially the 1956 Marketing Act, that governed the Marketing Board. George served on the Potato Marketing Board in the early 1960's. He was one of the visionaries who saw the need to improve potato seed to ensure the quality of the product. He worked hard to establish the Elite Seed Farm at Fox Island, PEI, where disease-free seed was grown for PEI potato producers to enable them to grow top quality potatoes for exports. He was an active member of several others organizations including the Kensington Dairy Association, Kensington Co-op, Small Farms Association, and he was a representative to the national Canadian Horticultural Council from PEI. In this role, he organized one of the most successful National Potato Conferences on PEI. He worked with the federal government to establish the first Advance Payment Program for PEI farmers. This enabled them to operate their business so that they did not have to sell their product to meet their financial commitments and could market their product in an orderly way to access higher prices. He was a 'man of the soil' with a deep commitment to the agriculture industry on PEI. Maybe one of his most lasting contributions was the promotion and building of the Farm Center in Charlottetown, with the cooperation of the late Stewart MacDonald of MacDonald Tobacco. He was also very committed to his community. He was a school trustee at Park Corner School and worked towards having a new school built for elementary grades and for the development of Kensington Regional High School for the higher grades. He was a strong supporter of amalgamation for all grades as it is known today. He lobbied government to bring electrical power and paved roads to rural communities such as French River. He was a member of the Kensington Chamber of Commerce that worked to bring Seabrook Farms processing plant (now Cavendish Farms) to the Kensington area. George was an elder in Long River United Church for many years. He was ahead of his time in that he was concerned about the environment and worked with Ralph Hostetter and the Coronation Women's Institute to have a community dump in French River. He enjoyed building dams and water wheels which provided emergency power for the farm. George was a man with strong principles and a love for family, friends, community, church, education, transportation, communication and the environment. He was a man of vision who was a good listener and accepted criticism well. He has been described as a 'down to earth quiet gentleman who wasn't a big talker but when he spoke people listened as it was usually important'. The Howatt family are very grateful to Ralph Hostetter for establishing this scholarship at UPEI in our father and brother's memory. A true friend and community-minded man, Ralph Hostetter is a businessman from Elkton, Maryland, USA and French River, PEI. |
