The Harlan County Community Scholarship Banquet will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 3 at the Harlan Center.

The banquet is held each year to honor graduating students from the Harlan County and Harlan Independent School Districts.

Tickets are currently on sale for $15 each at the Harlan Daily Enterprise, located in the New Market Plaza in Harlan, and in the offices at Harlan County High School, Cumberland Elementary School and Harlan High School. Tickets should be purchased no later than noon on May 1.

In addition to the longstanding scholarships given annually, the banquet this year will feature several first time scholarships awarded to students from the class of 2018.

Finalists for the Harlan County Community Scholarship, the Harlan County Soil Conservation District and the Bianchi Scholarship from Harlan County High School are Chelsey Caldwell, Allison Cook, Carmen Cox, Autumn Dunaway, Breanna Epperson, Casey Ledford, Emily Perkins and Ryan Sergent; and from Harlan High School are Lydia Cassim, Carlie Hatfield, Bronwyn Haynes, Jacob McCurry and Ashley Overbay.

New scholarships presented this year include the Robert Frazier Foundation Scholarships. Finalists for these awards, which are designated for and presented to students from the Tri-City area of Harlan County, are Paul Browning, Carmen Cox, Autumn Dunaway, Emily Eldridge, Bronwyn Haynes, Destinee Jenkins, Megan McKnight and Grayson Raleigh.

The inaugural Fred and Betty Jo Shotton Haas Scholarship will be presented. This scholarship goes to a graduating senior from Harlan County who has grown up in Lynch or has strong ties to the Lynch community and the former Lynch school district.

The Harold and Sylvia Tomchin Memorial Educational Scholarship is being presented for the first time as well. It will be presented to Bradley James Lemar Burkhart.

The Harlan Rotary Club will again present the Tommy Lee Memorial Scholarship. The finalists are Taylor Alyssa Jordan from Harlan County High School and Carlie Hatfield from Harlan High School.

The Ed Miracle Scholarship, the Justin Shackleford Memorial Scholarship, the J. Clark Metcalf Memorial Scholarship and the Loyall American Legion Post No. 273 Scholarships will be presented.

Additional scholarships are expected to be announced during the banquet as well. Selections for those scholarships by various organizations are continuing.

Harlan Independent School Superintendent C.D. Morton, who serves as the president of the scholarship fund this year, noted, “We are awarding more scholarships this year than ever before and it is a direct reflection of the outstanding students we have in our county. We are excited to see what the future has in store for our recipients this year.”

Anyone wishing to make tax deductible donations to the community scholarship fund may send them to the Harlan County Community Scholarship Fund, 106 South Cumberland Avenue, Harlan, 40831-2104. Anyone with questions about donating may contact Ken Jones at 606-573-2838, C.D. Morton at 606-573-8700 or Brent Roark at 606-573-4330.