MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — The Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) awarded William Pratt, who is attending UMass, the Gregory Finn Scholarship during the organization’s annual meeting in Framingham, Massachusetts, on Dec. 5.
The Gregory Finn Scholarship was established in loving memory of a good friend to agriculture. Gregory L. Finn was MFBF information & public relations director, a religious and devoted family man, who died of a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 55.
“Greg Finn had the unique ability to communication about agriculture to the consumer population,” said MFBF President Mark Amato. “He was a natural at interpreting and conveying the problems facing farmers in a way that non-agricultural communities could understand. We need more people like that today, which is why we award this scholarship every year.”
To qualify for a scholarship, recipients must be a child or legal dependent of a regular members in good standing with MFBF. They also must be at least in their junior year of college, pursuing a degree related to agriculture or communications.
“William is pursuing a degree in engineering, which can give him skills he needs to succeed in agriculture,” Amato said. “He is a deserving applicant for our scholarship and has a very bright future.”
Pratt grew up on his family’s farm in Brimfield, where he developed in an interest in engineering as he enjoyed working and solving problems with creative solutions. He is studying engineering at UMass and hopes to work at a small shop that specializes in transmitters.
Eventually, he would like to return to his family’s farm to preserve the family’s farmland. He understands the importance of advocating for farmers as he wrote, “I am deeply concerned, as I’m sure you all are, as to the direction that the legislature is going, and the many restrictions put upon all types of farmers. I would honestly to address these issues with a mature advantage after working for a time.”
Congratulations, William!
–Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation
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