McGinty Wins Georgia Beer Wholesalers Scholarship

VALDOSTA - The Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association presented a scholarship to Valdosta State University student Erica McGinty at a luncheon on Tuesday, Nov. 13, in the University Center Dogwood Room.

The scholarship will pay for all tuition and fees during a full academic year. McGinty is one of three recipients this year and 15 recipients since the program started in the late 1990’s. Jim Baker, treasurer and former president of the Georgia Beer Wholesalers Association, said the organization’s future goal is to distribute between 8 and 16 scholarships per year. The vice president of sales and marketing in the beer division of Georgia Crown Distributing in McDonough, Ga., Baker has been a strong supporter of the scholarship program since its inception in 1996.

“The state of Georgia has been good to the Georgia Beer Wholesalers and what better way is there to give back than through education,” he said during the luncheon.

A Macon native, McGinty is a sophomore at VSU with a 3.78 grade point average. She has been a dancer since the age of five and she is majoring in Dance, one of the university’s newest degree programs. She is a member of the Red Hots Dance Team and the VSU Repertory Dancers, as well as a dance instructor at Quitman Elementary for the Boys and Girls Club. The daughter of Robert and Paula McGinty of Macon, she hopes to one day pursue a career as a film editor, while continuing to dance as well.

McGinty was home schooled prior to college, which affected her eligibility to receive the HOPE scholarship. She and her mother are thrilled to have the additional funding provided by the Georgia Beer Wholesalers this year, which will assist her as she continues to study dance.

“(VSU) has been a great experience for me,” McGinty said. “The professors have really pushed me and I have really grown during the past year.”

Georgia Beer Wholesalers Assocation representatives Chet Bryant, executive director, and Katrina Anderson, assistant director, joined the Tuesday luncheon to congratulate McGinty on the award.