First Betsy Watson scholarship awarded in Truckee - 2009

The Truckee Sunrise Rotary Club today announced the award of the first Betsy Watson Nursing Scholarship to Jennifer Palu of Tahoe City.

The $1,000 scholarship grant honors the memory of Elizabeth “Betsy” Watson, a long-time professional nurse, nursing educator and nursing administrator at Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee.

Ms. Palu is working toward her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing at the University of Washington in Seattle. She spent her summer as a Patient Care Technician at Tahoe Forest Hospital.

“I had the privilege of taking care of Betsy as a Patient Care Tech a few months before she passed,” Jennifer recalls. “She was an amazingly bright soul, and I wish I had known her under different circumstances,” she added. “It is my pleasure to be awarded such a generous scholarship in her name.”

Her selection was made by a panel comprised of Anne Knudsen, recently retired from Tahoe Forest Hospital, Kathy Bender of the Truckee Sunrise Rotary Club and Janet Van Gelder of the Truckee Rotary Club.

The Betsy Watson Nursing Scholarship has now been established as a fund within the Truckee Rotary Foundation. Tax-deductible contributions will grow within an endowment which will allow an increasing number of scholarships to be awarded in the future.

Tax-deductible contributions may be sent to the Truckee Rotary Foundation, P. O. Box 3210, Truckee, CA 96160. Please indicate the desired intention of the contribution.

— Submitted to the Sun

Rotary International is the world’s first and one of the largest non-profit humanitarian service organizations. It is comprised of 1.2 million business and professional leaders in 200 countries and geographical regions. Rotary members initiate community projects that address many of today’s most critical issues such as violence, AIDS, hunger, the environment and health care.