Hundreds gather at the Tower Event and Conference Center for the annual Par Mar Scholarship Awards Dinner on Wednesday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

MARIETTA – The annual Par Mar Scholarship Awards Dinner was held Wednesday night at the Tower Event and Conference Center with a total of nearly $300,000 awarded to 167 student recipients in 2026.

The top eight scholarship award recipients were present at the dinner.

One recipient, Austin Williams, was originally going to earn $10,000 but it was announced at the dinner his entire college career would be covered.

In partnership with The Ritton Family Foundation, the awards dinner recognizes college-bound students within the Mid-Ohio Valley area who are in need of financial assistance.

The Ritton Family Foundation Executive Director Nichole Evans said there are 167 recipients throughout the entire year awarded a total of nearly $300,000.

“Once a year we look through all of the applications and our top winners are here tonight,” she said.

During the dinner, vendors donated all proceeds to the scholarship fund.

“The ones who are here tonight were awarded $5-10,000 for undergraduate degrees or trade schools,” said Evans.

She said as long as they maintain their grades they can file a renewal application which grants them money as they go through college.

Evans said during the application review process, they decide who is in need of financial assistance to ease the burden during their college or trade school career.

The recipients were presented by Milo Ritton, president of Croton Holding which is the owner of the Par Mar Stores. The Ritton Family Foundation has awarded nearly $1 million in scholarships over the years from the help of platinum, gold, silver, and bronze level corporate partners who donate to make the awards possible.

Evans said they earn the most in donations through residents that purchase at Par Mar Stores and round up their purchases. She said over the course of a year there were $500,000 raised from people rounding up their costs for purchases made at Par Mar Stores.

Ritton announced during the dinner that Williams would receive complete financial coverage of his college career for his perseverance through academia without being able to use his arms and hands. He had overcome many challenges over the years but no challenge prevented him from pursuing his aspirations.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to go to college to begin with because of my disability,” he said. “With the scholarship, it’s a huge relief with stress and the physical challenges and I can never thank you all enough for all of the support everyone has brought here today.”

Williams wanted to thank the foundation and his mom for being their to support him. He had plans to attend Davis & Elkins College but announced his switch to West Virginia Wesleyan College during the dinner.

Recipients present at the dinner were awarded $5,000 and $10,000 in scholarship money for their respective school of attendance.

The recipients included:

*Madisen Dailey, $5,000 – Ohio University

*Hayden Walls, $5,000 – Marshall University

*Emily Bailey, $10,000 – West Virginia University of Parkersburg

*Elise Lupo, $10,000 – Ohio University

*Taylor Martin, $10,000 – University of Kentucky

*Suzannah Meade, $10,000 – Marshall University

*Danielle Murphy, $10,000 – West Virginia University

*Austin Williams, $10,000 – West Virginia Wesleyan College

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com