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Connie & Ricky Sparks Memorial Scholarship Foundation winners announced

Sophie Thomas, the $20,000 Connie & Ricky Sparks Memorial Scholarship Foundation award winner, and Alysa Williams, the $5,000 winner, pose with Jim Sparks and Brenda Sparks McCleerey.

By Lightning Reports, Published: July 12, 2025

The Sparks Family and Connie & Ricky Sparks Memorial Scholarship Foundation has awarded its 2025 Hendersonville High School Scholarship awards for four-year college and community college students. 

The four-year $20,000 winner is Sophie Thomas, who will enroll at UNC-Chapel Hill in the fall. The two-year $5,000 winner is Alysa Williams, who will attend Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.

This is the 18th year presenting the Connie & Ricky Sparks Memorial Scholarship, which now totals $350,000 awarded to outstanding deserving HHS graduates.

To help celebrate the HHS class of 2025, Jim Sparks and Brenda Sparks McCleerey were joined by Kat Kilpatrick Chisholm, HHS class of 2010; Sidney Brown, 2019; Jonathan Ramsey, 2024; and Alana Jackson, 2024.

The Connie & Ricky Sparks Memorial Scholarship was created after the tragic loss of their beloved Mother, Connie Sparks and their cherished brother, Ricky to honor and celebrate their lives.