By Tom Edgar, President at T.R. Edgar & Associates

The National Capital Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth isn’t all about networking, learning how to grow your company and deal-making. Well … not all of the time.

The mission of ACG National Capital is to facilitate the growth of the business community in the Washington, D.C., metro area. A large part of that is a focus on the next generation of business leaders. The University Outreach and Scholarships Committee plays a vital role by helping students who are aspiring to enter the business world for the first time.

Through the granting of scholarships, mentoring, and networking, the University Outreach and Scholarships Committee is able to expose students to the region’s business community. This is done through internship opportunities that sometimes lead to full-time positions with member companies. This benefits students by providing valuable experience, but also benefits ACG by keeping these talented individuals within our member companies.

In addition to arranging and offering internships and other professional growth opportunities, the University Outreach and Scholarships Committee also assists students financially. In the past, the committee has granted scholarships to three or four students per academic year. The scholarships have been awarded to students from a variety of the fine business schools in the Washington metro area and ranged in value from $7,500 to $10,000. From the ACG scholarship program’s inception in 2006, more than $125,000 has been awarded to the very deserving student scholarship recipients.

The scholarships are awarded based on a wide range of criteria including academic qualifications, volunteer work and extracurricular activities. However, the applicants are mostly judged and differentiated by a personal interview with the committee. Following the interviews, the full committee decides on the scholarship winners.

These scholarships are truly valued by both the students and the universities they represent. They look forward to the annual competition. The funds for the scholarships are derived from two primary sources – individual fund raising by members of the committee and part of the proceeds from the ACG National Capital golf tournament. The portion of proceeds from the Golf Tournament are the largest source of funds, by far, for the scholarships.

This year’s golf outing will be on Monday, Sept. 27, at Westwood Country Club in Vienna. The practice facility will be open for players around 10 a.m. and the shotgun start is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. The fun-filled day of competition will be capped off with an outside BBQ dinner (under a tent of course), during which tournament winners will be announced and prizes awarded. The current group of scholarship winners will also be presented to the National Chapter members in attendance.

The annual golf outing is an incredible opportunity for ACG National Capital members to help ACG give back to the community and jumpstart the careers of our region’s future business leaders.

To find out additional information, or to register and help raise money for a great cause, click here.

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