2003 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

Rita Ralston, David McDonald, Jr., Stephanie Ralston Khurana and Jai Khurana at the awards ceremony.
Stephanie Ralston Khurana and Rita Ralston were pleased to present the third annual award of the Jeffrey D. Ralston Memorial Scholarship to David McDonald, Jr. of West River, MD. The award took place the Senior Award Ceremony at St. Mary's High School on May 21, 2003. Stephanie presented the $1,000 award, and again gave an inspiring presentation.

David is the hard working team member, optimistic, anxious to please, always eager to lighten the day with his humor. He enjoys people and making people laugh. He excelled academically, was senior class vice president and played Varsity and JV Ice Hockey for St. Mary's High School and three area leagues. He served as an altar server at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Owensville, MD for eight years and solely organized a community wide food drive to replenish the South County Food Bank, being recognized by the Annapolis "Capital" newspaper for outstanding community involvement.

Also during this time, David babysat for the neighborhood children, worked as a cashier at the local nursery and craft store and during three summers as a laborer at Boat Lifts Unlimited, a manufacturing company. His boss can be quoted, "As a business owner, I can tell you that it is extremely difficult to find an individual of David's age with the "work ethic" that David possesses. It is likewise very encouraging to know that in this day and age there are young people that do possess the moral and character traits that David has acquired from his parents and schooling." This is an impressive recommendation.

These traits were apparent in David's description of an opportunity he was twice privileged to have. He was allowed to help at an auto auction in Manheim, PA. He would help provide the support service as the cars were auctioned, moving them for transfer, cleaning them and putting tags on them. At the end of the day he was, in his own words, "responsible for driving one of these prestigious and expensive automobiles back to Annapolis. I felt very lucky that the owner of the dealership trusted me enough to drive one of those fine cars such a long distance on my own." His excitement and the joy he experienced was truly apparent, along with the sense of responsibility that he felt for doing a job well. His sense of dependability, responsibility and work ethic are reminiscent of those qualities Jeff Ralston had attained.

David is a true friend, as well. He described a experience he had, helping a close friend work through the devastating loss of his father. David was there for his friend when he first heard of the death arriving in his pajamas with a bucket of KFC chicken, as he knew this was his friend's favorite comfort food. His friendship, caring, and the long hours spent together during the subsequent days helped his friend recover and helped David know the value of selfless friendship.

It was again a privilege for the Ralston family to present this year's award of the Jeffrey D. Ralston Memorial Scholarship to David McDonald, Jr.


Rita Ralston, David McDonald, Jr., Stephanie Ralston Khurana, Jai Khurana, Mary Ruth McDonald and David McDonald, Sr. at the awards ceremony.