Criteria

Students who are graduates of a high school in Watauga County, NC, or who are Watauga County residents graduating from the NC School of Science and Math or the NC School of the Arts, or any other school for academically gifted students. These students shall exhibit excellence in three areas: (1) Academic excellence, (2) Physical vigor and activity. and (3) Leadership in school, church or community activities. Students who maintain a good academic record as determined by the Scholarship Selection Committee and who pursue a four-year college degree are eligible to receive four annual scholarship distributions.

About John and Ruth Blue

The Blue Scholarship was established in 2001 by John and Ruth Blue, with provisions for additional funds after their passing. The Blues retired to Watauga County in the mid-1990s and wanted to do something for the community that meant so much to them.

John Blue’s family organized the Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad in the early 1900s. It operated as one of the most successful short line railroads in the country and still serves the Aberdeen, Raeford and Fayetteville, N.C., area. During World War II, the system carried more than one million troops in and out of Fort Bragg.

Ruth Blue was a member and elder of First Presbyterian Church in Boone, N.C., and associated with Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. She was a director of the Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad, a member of the Lions Club in Foscoe, N.C., and a member at Hound Ears Club in Blowing Rock, N.C.

John Blue passed away in 2003 and his wife Ruth died in 2005. Following their deaths, a significant estate gift was made to the fund to support scholarships for graduates of Watauga High School or Watauga County residents graduating from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics or the North Carolina School of the Arts.