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VEDA Waller Family Memorial Scholarship Program
Economic developers realize the importance of professional development. Educational venues - where knowledge, professional experience, and best practices are shared between economic development practitioners - provide invaluable learning opportunities. VEDA offers professional development scholarships through the Waller Family Memorial Scholarship Program annually to help its members with their professional development efforts.
The Waller Family Memorial Scholarship was initially created in memory of Smiley H. Waller, VEDA’s first Executive Director who served the organization for more than 15 years. The scholarship was funded by Smiley’s family until Tom Waller’s passing in 2022. The VEDA Board voted in October 2022 to continue to fund this scholarship and rename it for both Tom and Smiley Waller under the name Waller Family Memorial Scholarship. In October 2023, the VEDA Board restructured VEDA’s scholarship program to be more flexible for applicants and created the Waller Family Memorial Scholarship Program to cover all scholarship funding. VEDA scholarship funding is determined in VEDA’s annual budgeting process and distributed at the discretion of the VEDA Awards & Scholarship Committee, based on the number of applications received and the tuition costs of the indicated course.
General Scholarship Application Information
The VEDA Scholarship application process begins in the fall with applications due in December. The scholarship portal remains open throughout the year, but applications will not be reviewed until January, with recipients being immediately notified once the committee has made its decisions. All scholarship recipients must utilize the scholarship in the calendar year. (Next cycle request for reimbursements are due by December 15, 2026.)
Scholarship funding is determined through the VEDA budget process annually (usually in September). The VEDA Board strives to allow for as many scholarships as possible within the confines of the budget based on anticipated revenue and expenses for the coming year.
Professional Development Scholarships
VEDA has identified the following professional development training opportunities to be eligible for scholarship support:
Dates, times, and locations of all eligible economic development courses may be found on the VEDA website in the Calendar section.
All scholarship application information must be submitted online through the VEDA website. Any requested documents in addition to the online form must be uploaded to the VEDA website as a single PDF document. All applicants must provide the date of the course they wish to attend and the amount of tuition for that course.
DEADLINE FOR NEXT SCHOLARSHIP CYCLE: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2025
CHECK THE VEDA WEBSITE FOR GUIDELINE AND DETAILS!
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