ELISE JOY FRANTZ SCHOLARSHIP

The Elise Joy Frantz Scholarship is awarded each year to an outstanding high school senior in Ottawa County who has shown respect for the law and a special interest in the Constitution and in government and who plans to develop these interests through further education at a college or university. Past recipients of the scholarship have gone on to varied careers -- many within the law, government, or public service, including work as attorneys, an Air Force intelligence officer, a public policy analyst, a lobbyist, and in the fields of international relations, non-profit, and social work.

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The scholarship originated as the “Ottawa County Bar Association Scholarship.” In 1988, Ron Frantz was president of the Ottawa County Bar Association, and there was a significant bar association account surplus. As a result, the Board proposed and the OCBA membership formally approved the granting of a yearly scholarship as part of their community outreach efforts. The first winner was selected through a competitive process and presented with the award at the Law Day dinner (at the Spring Lake Holiday Inn) by Judge Calvin Bosman. In 1993, Judge Brad Knoll was the Bar President and moved to re-name the scholarship after Ron and Patrice Frantz’s daughter Elise Joy Frantz (twin sister of Leigh), who passed away in October 1992.

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Today, the scholarship is an amount of $1,500 made as a one-time payment to the recipient upon commencement of their college studies. Ron Frantz’s office handles the application and interview process, in which Ron and two OCBA Board members interview the top candidates. They award the scholarship to the candidate who best exemplifies the qualities and interests in policy and law-related studies that the scholarship seeks to encourage and facilitate.

 

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