Pen Women award scholarships

Penning a scholarship can change a student's life, and the Sarasota chapter of the National League of American Pen Women wrote 14 scholarships for the Launching Leaders luncheon on May 19 at the Bird Key Yacht Club. 

The Launching Leaders event has been going on for 30 years and was started by the late Betty Altman. Her family foundation now supports the art awards in perpetuity. This year, the letters awards and one art award were supported by the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, while the music awards were independently supported.

"We're just trying to keep the arts alive," Second President Lady Lynn Wilson said. 

The event drew many members, as well as students' family. About 80 people flocked to the yacht club for the luncheon. Music composition winners performed their pieces during lunch, and the letters winners read their essays after lunch and accepting their scholarships.