Aaron Butler scholarship winners named

The Aaron Butler Memorial Award of Excellence has been presented to Rianna Shumway and Dillon Slack of Monticello High School, along with $1,500 each. Laura and Randy Butler presented the award, inspired by their son, Staff Sergeant Aaron Rhett Butler (Army Special Forces), who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2017. Jesse Gregson, a philanthropist and founder of Jesse’s Lil Warriors, sponsored a recent hunt in Texas for wounded soldiers and presented the money he raised for the Aaron Butler Memorial Award. The award is for a graduating student who is an extra-miler, exhibits patriotism, lives life with passion, is a dedicated relentless hard worker, mentors others, and faces challenges with courage. Aaron said, “Great things do not happen because it’s your destiny. Your destiny happens because you do great things.” Rianna plans to pursue a career in aviation and Dillon will attend Snow College in the fall. Dillon is the son of Jill and Toby Pearson and the late Kyle Slack. Rianna is the daughter of Chance and Marcia Shumway. Staff photo