Ukiah… A memorial plaque honoring all of the John Bogner Fine Arts Scholarship recipients was recently mounted inside the lobby of the Center for Visual and Performing Arts at Mendocino College.

Bogner was a beloved member of the Mendocino College Foundation Board of Directors and was actively and generously involved in multiple organizations throughout the community. “He was so supportive of the arts at Mendocino College and could always be seen attending an event in our theatre. John knew the importance of students having the opportunity to participate in a play or musical, and he loved celebrating and supporting our students!” Stated Reid Edelman.

The John Bogner Fine Arts Scholarship was created in 2012 by his partner Gary Nix and many local individuals have since contributed to the scholarship. Since inception, eleven students at Mendocino College have received the John Bogner Fine Arts Scholarship and now they and him are permanently memorialized inside the lobby of the college theatre.

The 2019 scholarship recipient is Blare Elliott. Elliott played the lead role of Winifred in the college’s mainstage musical production of Once Upon a Mattress in Spring 2019 and is a new student in the theatre department’s Theatre Conservatory Cohort ensemble. According to Edelman, she is an outstanding student both professionally and academically, a young theatre artist and student whom John Bogner would have cheered enthusiastically.”

For more information about the Mendocino College Foundation or to donate to any of their programs, call them at 707-467-1018.