Chick-fil-A scholarship winners are from L to R: (front row) Josiah Williams, Columbia HS; Erin Shealy, Gilbert HS; Nikki Holbert, Swansea HS; Brian O'Neal, Blythewood HS; Derwin Montgomery, Lower Richland HS; (back row) Rachel Wilkes, Chapin HS; Markell Rawls, Keenan HS; Chris Love, Richland Northeast HS; Cory Barton, White Knoll HS; Rhodes Amaker, Heathwood Hall.

Columbia-area Chick-fil-A restaurants, in conjunction with the Greater Columbia Educational Advancement Foundation, recently awarded $1,000 scholarships to ten deserving Columbia-area high school students. These scholarship recipients, nominated by their respective schools, were honored at a banquet held at Seawell's Banquet & Reception Center on Tuesday, May 2.

Winners of the 2006 Greater Columbia Educational Advancement Foundation Scholarship included Derwin L. Montgomery, Lower Richland; Markell Dominique Rawls, W.J. Keenan; Brian O'Neal, Blythewood; Christopher DeYo Love, Richland Northeast; Erin Lee Shealy, Gilbert; Nikki Marie Holbert, Swansea; Rachel Elizabeth Wilkes, Chapin; Josiah Gent Williams, Columbia; Cory Allen Barton, White Knoll; and Macdonald Rhodes Amaker, Heathwood Hall.

The 10 students, all high school seniors, were selected based on nominations from their schools. The $1,000 scholarships, paid directly to the college of the recipients' choice, are offered through the Greater Columbia Educational Advancement Foundation and are made possible through funds raised each year at the annual Chick-fil-A Classic Basketball Tournaments.

"We at Chick-fil-A are proud to support and celebrate the achievements of our community's young people, both in the classroom, as well as on the field of play," said Scott Richardson, Chick-fil-A restaurant owner/operator and Classic Advisory Board Member in Columbia. “The Chick-fil-A Classic Basketball Tournament has been a fun and engaging way to create awareness and raise funds for the Foundation Scholarship, and we look forward to getting involved again next year."

Sixteen high school basketball teams from across the nation competed in the fourth-annual Chick-fil-A Classic Basketball Tournament, which took place December 20-23, 2005. The four-day event helped raise $10,000 to benefit the Greater Columbia Educational Advancement Foundation.

For more information about the scholarship recipients or the Columbia Chick-fil-A Classic Tournament is available on the tournament's web site located at www.chick-fil-aclassic.com.