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The David L. Taton Scholarship Award Winners for 2007!

An awards breadkfast was held in September at Bryant University honoring this year's Scholarship recipients and the two David L. Taton -Professional Scholarship recipients. Judy Taton, David's widow, attended and was very moved by the excitement demonstratead by those receiving awards.

The Scholarship recipients were:

Chris Loffredo - Narragansett High School

Thomas Mendes, Jr. - Cranston High School West

Cesar Martinez - Cranston High School West

The Professional Scholarship recipients were:

Valerie O'Connor - Consultant, Human Services

Theresa M. Snyder - Human Resources Manager, Coventry Credit Union

For those who did not know him, David Taton worked for over 30 years at Textron in a variety of HR positions, including Director of Human Resources, Policies and Compliance. David was extremely active, and also served on many leadership positions with the Society for Human Resource Management at both the local and national level. Among the offices held were the RISC-SHRM Director and Area 1 Vice President / SHRM. In addition, David also served tirelessly on numerous committees for both the State Chapter and HRM/RI

After retirement, David continued his role as an active community leader, holding positions as president and board member of the Fellowship Health Resources and president of the board of the Public Education Fund. David was also active in Leadership Rhode Island, and he was also a former vice president of Big Sisters of RI, pacesetter for the American Heart Association Annual Heart Walk plus an active member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Out of respect for David's memory and his passion for individual development, two scholarship funds were created. Judi Taton established the “David L. Taton Scholarship Award for Professional Development”. This is a scholarship awarded to SHRM members seeking to further develop their individual HR skills through continued profession education.

In addition, a second scholarship was started by the RISC-SHRM titled “The David Taton Memorial Scholarship Fund.” This scholarship is for graduating high school seniors seeking a school-to-career education by attending technical - type schools where traditional scholarship funding is often not available.

Both scholarships are managed by the RI State Council –SHRM by Heather Abbott, Director and her scholarship committee.

Congratulations to one and all!