Workforce Readiness Scholarship
The Barry A. Spaeth Workforce Readiness Scholarship is open to all 2025 Fayetteville-Perry Graduates, regardless of your plans to attend college. Scholarship funds can be used to pay for continuing training, the cost of application for a licensure or certification, or even the tools and supplies necessary for your chosen trade. Deadline to apply is Monday, April 21, 2025.
This year, we will be offering two, $250 scholarships in honor of my father, Barry Spaeth, who along with his wife, Rosalie, owned Spaeth Farm Supply in Fayetteville from 1977-2000, a place that dominates my childhood memories growing up in our little hometown.
My father didn’t have much growing up, and despite having a brilliant mind for math and business, college wasn’t in the cards for him when he graduated high school. At nineteen he began working at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, driving an hour in each direction to a job he didn’t love but that allowed him to support his growing family. When presented with the opportunity to participate in P&G’s on-the-job training to become a pipefitter, he took the opportunity for a new position that would allow him to work a steady shift and provide additional income to his family. After more than two decades working at Procter & Gamble, Dad rolled the dice and took a chance, purchasing a farm supply business in Fayetteville, that would be known as Spaeth Farm Supply for almost a quarter of a century. During those years, my father took a failing business and turned it into a great success, even opening a second location in Hillsboro! From our little, one-stoplight town, Dad became a top seller for Kinze and Cub Cadet, winning sales awards that allowed my parents to travel around the world from the Caribbean to Hawaii to the Canary Islands. During this time, he continued to farm and invest in property, using his sharp mind and business savvy to continually grow his portfolio and allowing my parents to retire in comfort at the turn of the new millennium. My father is the prime example of the fact that not everyone needs a college degree to become successful or retire well.
Click the Barry A Spaeth Workforce Readiness Scholarship banner above or scan the QR code to apply. Please be sure you are logged into your FPLS email to ensure the Google form works correctly. Good Luck! I look forward to reading your applications.
Jennifer Spaeth-Mullis
Director of Curriculum & Instruction
Fayetteville-Perry Local Schools
