The Grand Prix Foundation of Long Beach announced this month the seven winners of the Robert E. Leslie Memorial Scholarship for 2018. The scholarship program was established in 1997 and is named after the former Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) chief who was also a board member of the foundation.

Long Beach Unified School District high school seniors are eligible to apply and are then evaluated by a panel of civic leaders based on their scholastic achievement, potential, extracurricular activities, community service and financial need, according to the website.

The winning students and their high schools:

Briana Contreras Tejado – Jordan
Cameron Johnson – Wilson
Drew Jones – Lakewood
Juliana Lee – Poly
Joy Rowden – Poly
Luke Sams – Millikan
Erin Williams – Lakewood

“The competition this year was the toughest yet, as all the applicants were well qualified and pretty evenly matched,” Dave Leslie, scholarship committee member, said in a statement.

Money for the scholarships, each an unrestricted $1,500, was raised during the Grand Prix Foundation’s Charity Days, held the week before the annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. This year, the nonprofit will host its first Grand Prix 5K Walk/Run on the race circuit on Sunday, April 8 and a Monte Carlo Night on Friday, April 13.

Over the past 27 years, the volunteer-run organization has raised and donated more than $4 million to local charities, including Long Beach Area Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald House, Shortstop, Interval House and Women’s Shelter, as well as the Robert E. Leslie Scholarship Program. Ninety-five percent of the funds raised are donated to local charities.

Checks for each unrestricted $1,500 scholarship will be awarded to the students at a reception on Monday, April 2 at 5:30PM at King’s Fish House, located at 100 West Broadway Avenue.

For more information about the Grand Prix Foundation of Long Beach, visit the website here. gplb.com/foundation.html Learn more about the upcoming Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach here.