We are pleased to announce that South Georgia Banking Company is now accepting 2024 Julian & Jan Hester Memorial Scholarship applications!

The goal of the Julian & Jan Hester Memorial Scholarship is to assist deserving high school seniors in their first year of college and to promote community banking. All Georgia high school seniors are eligible to compete for this scholarship if they are planning to enter a Georgia university, college, or technical institute (two-year program or more) in the fall semester of 2024, following their high school graduation (applicant must be a full-time student). Each year, CBA awards four (4) $1,000 scholarships.

SGBC will select one applicant as the local winner, who will be awarded a $500 cash scholarship before moving on to the CBA selection process. The bank will also name a local runner-up, who will also be considered for one of the four $1,000 prizes.

To compete, students must be sponsored by a local community bank, must complete an activity record expressing their leadership activity in school, write a short essay on community banking, provide teacher recommendations and an official high school transcript. Awards are based on academic merit and not financial need.

The scholarship is named after former community banker and long-time CBA Chief Executive Officer, the late Julian Hester, and his late daughter, Jan Hester. Jan was a senior at the University of Georgia when she died in an auto accident on April 15, 1990. In addition to supporting community banking, this scholarship is an opportunity to pass on the positive qualities both Julian and Jan Hester exemplified to further the development of tomorrow’s generations.

The student application can be found here: 2024 Julian & Jan Hester Memorial Scholarship Application  

Please help spread the word about this scholarship and encourage qualifying high school seniors in your community and schools to fill out an application and return it to their nearest South Georgia Banking Company branch or mail it to SGBC, P.O. Box 1505, Tifton GA 31793 to be received before Friday, April 5, 2024.