IBPF

Iowa Black Powder Federation
Scholarship Program

2012 Scholarship Winners!

Kyle Stanley of Sanborn, Iowa, who is attending Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon

Heidi Eichelberger of West Des Moines, Iowa who is attending Mercy College of Health Sciences in Des Moines

Brennan Lawrence of Des Moines, Iowa, who will be attending University of Iowa in Iowa City

Congratulations to this years IBPF Scholarship winners!

2013 Scholarship

Eligibility

Students should be graduating seniors.

Students must be pursuing a degree at an accredited institution of higher education (i.e. Junior College, Community College, Technical College, College or University)

Students are not required to have previously or currently participated in the black powder shooting sports.

Students must submit an essay based on their interpretation of the "Preamble to the Constitution of the Iowa Black Powder Federation" and associated Constitution.

Student and/or student's legal guardian are not required to live in Iowa but must be a current member of the Iowa Black Powder Federation in good standing.

Students must submit completed essays to a member of the Iowa Black Powder Federation board of directors by March 1.

Members of the Iowa Black Powder Federation board of directors and their families are eligible to participate in this program.

Essay

Write a brief essay based on the participant’s interpretation of the Preamble to the Constitution of the IBPF . Essay should be type-written, dated and should not exceed two pages.
The Preamble to the Constitution of the Iowa Black Powder Federation can be found in our hand-out leaflet and on our website at www.iowablackpowderfederation.net/about_us.html.
Please also include the following information: Your name, address, a phone number you can be reached at, your high school graduation date and your college of preference.

Selection Process

At the annual spring Iowa Black Powder Federation meeting (generally held during the month of March) all scholarship program essays will be presented to the board of directors.
At the meeting the board of directors will review submitted essays and select a winner or winners that meet the eligibility requirements.

Scholarship Amount

Each scholarship winner will receive a minimum of $250.00.

Disbursement of Funds

Students may use their scholarship at any accredited institution of higher education (i.e. Junior College, Community College, Technical College, College or University). The money must be used for tuition, books fees and housing. The Iowa Black Powder Federation will work with the student and the college financial aid officer in determining the payee when the check is issued. This will ensure the greatest benefit to the recipient and avoid violation of eligibility requirements. This is a one-time award for one year.

Presentations

A member of the Iowa Black Powder Federation board of directors or appropriate designee will officially present the scholarship award to the winner.

IBPF Board Member - Terry Kamstra

Dear fellow IBPF members & readers of the Powder Horn News. At the IBPF Board of Directors meeting held November 3, 2012 the Scholarship Program was discussed as a standing agenda item. As acting Scholarship Program Chairperson I submit the following information & update specific to the program.

At this time we have not received any scholarship applications. I encourage all IBPF members & non-members to look in your social circles for potential candidates. I also invite you to contact your local High School Guidance Counselor as most scholarship program information is funneled through them. Eligible students can’t possibly participate if they are unaware that the opportunity exists. All program information is available on our website at www.iowablackpowderfederation.net

During the past year the Federation fielded some suggestions regarding the Scholarship Program & the use of raffle funds for the scholarships from a few members. Without going into great detail some of the suggestions included:

To use raffle funds for other programs (not solely for the scholarship program)
To limit the number of scholarships awarded
To also use raffle funds to reduce IBPF event costs
To change the eligibility criteria to “merit-based”
To consider abandoning the program completely
To open the program to anyone regardless of any association with the IBPF

I want to thank the members that provided input for doing so. The IBPF Board of Directors needs input from its members to keep the Federation on course. We appreciate hearing the “voice of the membership” & encourage more of it.

The members who offered suggestions regarding the program also agreed that having a scholarship program is a good idea & a noble thing for the Federation to do. The IBPF Board supported that sentiment at the meeting & has decided to continue to offer the program with only a couple minor changes. The changes include:

Raffle funds will no longer be used just for scholarships
Modifying the program outline to allow the Board to award single or multiple scholarships

Some things that remain unchanged are the eligibility & essay criteria. One of the core concepts of the program was to make it a members only benefit. We wanted to offer something back to the people that have made the Federation such a great organization over the years. Another core concept is to have the participants gain a deeper understanding of what the Federation is all about & what better way to do that than to interpret what our preamble means to them in an essay. We purposely decided against merit-based criteria (GPA, leadership qualities, shooting ability, etc.) in an effort to focus on the students understanding of what our organization has stood for over the last 28 years & what we will stand for in the years to come.

Moving forward I believe that three basic elements must exist in order for the Federation to continue to offer this program: A. Support for the program by a majority of our members, B. Available funds & C. Participation from applicants. If any one of these fails to exist then I think the IBPF Board would have to take action regarding the program. Such action would either be to modify the program to facilitate a higher level of success or cancel it.

I’m offering my contact information at the end of this article & welcome any input either for or against the program. In order to accurately define if membership support exists I need to hear from as many of you as possible.

Finally, please keep in mind that the program is only a couple years old so it’s reasonable to expect more changes as it evolves & continues to mature. We all want this program to be as successful as possible & I think if we work together with that as our goal then only good things can happen.

Respectfully,

Terry Kamstra
            4692 280^th Street
            Sheldon, IA 51201
            Phone: 712-348-1513
            mckinley280@netllc.net

Preamble to the Constitution of the "IOWA BLACK POWDER FEDERATION"

We, a group of people with a deep abiding interest in black powder firearms do, band together to form the IOWA BLACK POWDER FEDERATION to promote the safe use of black powder firearms for hunting and target shooting; to encourage the collection and display of black powder firearms as a means of passing on to the emerging generations a sense of their history and importance in the building of our nation; to promote and encourage the high level of craftsmanship required in the building of safe, dependable black powder firearms for modern use; and to establish an organization that will provide opportunities for black powder shooters to engage in shooting on a state wide basis.