Skidmore College to hold 41st Annual ‘Polo by Twilight’ Scholarship Benefit Virtually
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Skidmore College will celebrate the 41st Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Benefit virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Proceeds benefit the Joseph C. and Anne T. Palamountain Scholarship Fund, which supports financially eligible juniors and seniors with outstanding academic records and co-curricular service. The fund, which honors Skidmore’s late president and his wife, has provided more than 400 scholarships since 1979.
Registration is now open for the online event, which will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 21. Speakers will include celebrity polo player Leighton Jordan; Skidmore’s new president, Marc C. Conner; and Bruce Palamountain, son of Anne and Joseph Palamountain. The event will also recognize 2020 Palamountain Scholar Award recipient Naira Abdula ’20, who graduated from Skidmore with honors in May. Participants can also take part in a live auction and take advantage of takeout meal specials from Hattie’s and Longfellows.
Requests for financial aid have reached record highs, and event co-chairs Kristin Grosso ’91 and Yvonne McEachron hope the benefit will support efforts to ensure a Skidmore education remains accessible to all talented students, regardless of their financial circumstances.
“I hope that in the midst of this pandemic crisis, our invitees will consider donating to the fund, as many students need the support now more than ever,” Grosso said.
The Anne T. Palamountain Scholar Award is presented each year to a student or recent graduate who has demonstrated leadership, service to others and a commitment to the larger good of society.
Abdula, a management and business major at Skidmore and Davis Project for Peace Grant recipient, is the founder of Edutrer, an afterschool program in her hometown in Mozambique that teaches underprivileged children how to read, write and count using interactive technologies. Her plan for the nonprofit organization also won third place in Skidmore’s 2018 Freirich Business Plan Competition.
Although Skidmore’s award-winning chefs are unable able to serve their signature gourmet dinner this year, the event’s planning committee has partnered with Longfellows Hotel Restaurant and Conference Center, owned by Skidmore graduate and Trustee Steve Sullivan ’78, and Hattie’s Restaurant to offer special takeout meals. Proceeds benefit the scholarship fund.
“I am so excited about the great work our auction committee has done in putting together many interesting and fabulous items,” said Grosso. “Our goal is to keep the one-hour program engaging and focused on celebrating this year’s scholar and continuing to raise funds for the scholarship program, as Anne Palamountain would wish for.”
Visit skidmore.edu/palamountainbenefit to register, donate, or for more information, including this year’s list of auction items, dinner specials and acknowledgment of special friends and event sponsors.
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