New scholarship established for Billings students
A memorial fund has been established by family and friends in Billings in memory of Melissa Weaver.
Weaver, 23, and three other people died June 27 when their small plane crashed near Dixon while the four were on a sightseeing flight.
Weaver was a reporter for the Daily Inter Lake.
The new scholarship fund is held by the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools and will be directed toward a graduating senior from Billings Senior High for use in post-secondary education.
Weaver graduated in 2005 from Billings Senior High School.
During her high school years, she competed on the varsity tennis team, performed as a majorette and played violin in the school orchestra.
“She inspired others through her enthusiasm, her boundless energy, and her infectious love of life,” according to a news release from the foundation.
This scholarship in her memory is to inspire others through her values and her lifelong love of music.
Contributions to the Melissa Hart Weaver Inspirational Award Memorial Fund can be made to the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools, 415 N. 30th Street, Billings, MT 59101. For more information, contact the Foundation at 406-245-4133 or visit www.efbps.org.
A previous scholarship fund was set up in Weaver’s name by former classmates at the University of Montana. She graduated from the School of Journalism there in 2009.
Donations for this fund can be sent to the University of Montana Foundation, P.O. Box 7159, Missoula, MT 59807, or donations can be made online at http://www.supportum.org.
Weaver was accompanied on the flight by another Inter Lake reporter, Erika Hoefer.
A memorial fund also has been established to honor Hoefer.
Friends of Erika Hoefer’s family in Wisconsin set up the fund at the Municipal Credit Union in Beloit, Wis.
Donations can be made to the Hoefer Family Fund and mailed to Municipal Credit Union, Attn: Peggy, 1154 Cranston Rd., Beloit, WI 53511.
Also on the plane were pilot Sonny Kless, 25, who grew up in Bigfork and Kalispell, and Brian Williams, 28, a second-year law student at the University of Montana.
The law school has begun raising money for a scholarship fund in honor of Williams. Contact the law school or the UM Foundation to contribute.