Dixon resident JoAn Giannoni was surprised and speechless when she read the letter addressed to her from the board of directors, Friends of the Dixon May Fair.
“We will never be able to measure your dedication to Friends of the Dixon May Fair so the scholarship committee came up with an idea,” she read.
The idea, which is now a reality: The Friends of the Fair has launched an annual college scholarship bearing her name.
The JoAnn Giannoni $2500 Scholarship Award will be presented annually to a Solano County resident majoring in agriculture in a four-year California college or university. This means that the Friends’ treasure chest has now expanded from $12,500 to $15,000 per year for annual college scholarships.
“It’s such an honor,” Gianonni said Friday, Jan. 26.] “I have no words. I am speechless. I’m going to write them right back and thank them for such a wonderful honor.”
Giannoni, a founding member of the organization, served as secretary and scholarship chairman from its beginnings in 2000 to 2017. The Friends, the service-oriented and fundraising arm of the Dixon May Fair, raises funds from the sale of beverages at the four-day fair and donates the proceeds for exhibitor awards, building and grounds improvements, and college scholarships. The all-volunteer organization is headed by president Donnie Huffman of Vacaville.
“I’ve seen so many changes initiated and completed by the Friends of the Fair,” Giannoni said. “They do a wonderful job.”
In its letter, the board wrote: “We are so thankful and proud of all the fine work you did as our secretary and as chairman of the scholarship committee and our members this seems only fitting that a scholarship is named for you.”
Giannoni retired in 2017 as scholarship chair and secretary—serving 17 years simultaneously in each position–but continues to serve. “I can still pour beer,” she quipped, “and I assist with the ATM machine (maintained by the Friends at the Dixon May Fair).”
A resident of Dixon for more than 50 years, Giannoni retired in 1997 as the management service officer for the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, concluding a 30-year UC Davis career.
Last summer, the Friends surprised her at their end-of-the-year barbecue on the fairgrounds with an engraved silver belt buckle and bracelet. She was serving barbecued beans to the crowd when she was called to the stage. Huffman and his wife, Tootie, treasurer of Friends, praised her for all she’s done.
Born JoAn Gnos in Thornton, San Joaquin County, and married twice and widowed twice, Giannoni now spends much of her time traveling and visiting her eight grandchildren (six boys and two girls) who reside in a total of five states: California, Texas, Kansas, Nevada and Tennessee. She especially enjoys attending the music concerts of grandson and country music star Jon Pardi of Nashville, a singer, songwriter and record producer from Dixon who has performed multiple times at the Dixon May Fair while she was serving beverages.
“He didn’t get his musical talent from me,” she said. “But my older sister, Marie (now deceased), was a singer.”
Over the last 17 years, the Friends of the Dixon May Fair has awarded $175,000 in college scholarships encompassing four-year and two-year college categories. Carrie Hamel, finance officer for UC Davis Public Health Sciences, who has chaired the committee since 2017, says the deadline to apply for the annual scholarships is March 1.
“We totally support our college students majoring in ag,” said Donnie Huffman of Vacaville, president of the Friends of Fair, who launched the scholarships. Agricultural fields can include everything from horticulture to entomology to veterinary medicine.
Applicants are scored on personal, civic and academic experience; academic standing; personal commitment and established goals; leadership potential; civic accomplishments; chosen field in the areas of agriculture, Hamel said. Most applicants have experience in 4-H, FFA or Grange—desired not mandated. All applicants must be residents of Solano County and attend college in California.
The top applicant in the four-year category receives the Ester Armstrong Scholarship Award of $3000, and the second top applicant will now receive the JoAn Giannoni Scholarship Award of $2500. The top applicant in the two-year community college category is awarded the $1500 Jack Hopkins Scholarship.
Last year the Friends awarded six scholarships. Jillian Raycraft of Dixon, a student at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, received the top award, the $3000 Ester Armstrong Scholarship, which memorializes a fair industry veteran who served as interim chief executive officer from 2006 to 2009.
Four students each received $2000 in the four-year college category: Kyle Garlick of Dixon, Chico State University; Jess Bravos of Dixon, University of San Diego; Kyle Esquer of Dixon, Cal Poly; and Dominique Sloper of Vacaville, Cal Poly.
Cameron Garlick of Dixon, a student at Butte Community College, Oroville, received the Jack Hopkins Scholarship of $1500, the top award in the community college category. His brother, Kyle, is a previous recipient of the award.
More information on the scholarship application rules is available on the Friends of the Fair site at http://www.friendsofthefair.org. The deadline to apply each year is 5 p.m. March 1. Applications must be on Friends of the Fair forms and include a personal essay and letters of support. They must be mailed to the Friends of the Fair, P.O. Box 242, Dixon, Calif. For more information, contact Hamel at cahamel@ucdavis.edu.