Mary Hupert can’t thank the Saccomanno family enough for changing her life.

And she has tried, even sending the family Christmas cards.

“I’ve told them ‘thank you’ a million times,” Hupert said. “They probably are so sick of (me).”

Hupert, now the office manager at Greg R. Remmenga, P.C., is exactly the type of student the Saccomanno family sought to help when they created the Saccomanno Higher Education Foundation in 1992.

Named for community philanthropists Geno and Ginny Saccomanno, the foundation has donated more than $7 million since its inception to thousands of prospective and current students pursuing post-secondary education.

The foundation gives local students, such as Hupert, the chance to pursue a college degree they otherwise couldn’t afford. The renewable scholarships aren’t awarded based on scholastic aptitude or age. Students receive them strictly based on financial need and county of residence.

Only students residing in Mesa County or Carbon County, Utah, are eligible for scholarships because both counties are where Geno and Ginny Saccomanno spent their lives.

Mary Hupert of Fruita says that the Saccomanno Foundation's financial aid she received for college was instrumental in her being able to earn both a Associate of Arts degree and a bachelors degree in business administration from Mesa State College. She now holds the position of office manager for attorney Greg Remmenga. Photo by Gretel Daugherty.

Ginny Saccomanno, 91, lives in Grand Junction, as do two of her daughters, Carol Murphy and Lenna Watson. Another daughter, Linda Siedow, lives in Lakewood.

Geno Saccomanno died in July 1999 after spending more than 50 years conducting lung cancer research at St. Mary’s Hospital.

In fact, Geno Saccomanno died one year before Hupert first applied for a foundation scholarship. Her story likely would have touched his heart.

Hupert’s father died from cancer when she was 15. Her mother was forced to get a job.

The money Hupert’s father left behind was enough that Hupert didn’t qualify for certain scholarships, but it wasn’t enough to pay for college and it was needed for other things. Her mother used it to make a down payment on a house for herself and her daughter.

Hupert accepted that she might never go to college.

That’s when the Saccomanno Higher Education Foundation stepped in.

Hupert, now 27, said the foundation awarded her $1,500 to $3,000 annually during the five years she was at Mesa State College earning a business degree.

Her framed diploma hangs on her office wall.

“They put me through college,” Hupert said. “I’m grateful to them for picking me.”

The foundation’s scholarship applications are easy to fill out, said Hupert and Luke Jackson, a Mesa State sophomore who also has received scholarship money.

In addition to completing the application, students need a letter of recommendation and tax return forms.

During his senior year at Central High School, Jackson applied for more than a dozen scholarships. The Saccomanno Higher Education Foundation listened to his plea for financial help.

He is the first person in his immediate family to attend a four-year college.

“To me, they are the most effective scholarship foundation,” Jackson said. “I know a lot of people who have gotten money from (the Saccomanno foundation).”

In the foundation’s first year, 32 people applied for scholarships. Now, the number exceeds 400 each year, Murphy said.

Foundation board members meet annually to read through every scholarship application.

Murphy and her two sisters all sit on the foundation board. They were encouraged early in childhood to take pride in their education, Murphy said.

Geno Saccomanno spent 15 years in college, earning a doctorate from St. Louis University.

Ginny Saccomanno never went to college to become a nurse. It is one of her mother’s biggest regrets, Murphy said.

“My father used to say he wanted us to go to school because that’s the one thing no one can take from you,” Murphy said.

Local attorney Terry Farina was a close friend of Geno Saccomanno and helped set up the foundation. He has been a board member since the foundation’s inception.

He has watched thousands of people like Hupert and Jackson go to college with the help of the foundation.

“It feels so good to be in college,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t have done it on my own.”

PROMOTING EDUCATION
Although Saccomanno Higher Education Foundation scholarships are only for students in Mesa County and Carbon County, Utah, recipients may attend the school of their choice.
For the 2009–10 school year, the Saccomanno Higher Education Foundation awarded 353 scholarships, totaling $595,950, according to paperwork from Carol Murphy, a foundation member and daughter of foundation namesakes Ginny and Geno Saccomanno.
Scholarship applications are available at all area high schools, Mesa State College and the foundation’s Web site, www.saccomannoed.org.

Email MELINDA MAWDSLEY