Keller Motors pledges $100 in July for every car sold for WHC Scholars program

An alumnus of West Hills College Coalinga, Jon Keller and his wife, Valerie, have long been supporters of the college. A number of years ago they established a memorial scholarship in honor of his parents, Robert and Collette Keller, who established the dealership in Coalinga in 1972.

Under Jon Keller’s leadership, the company has been expanded to include GMC, Ford and Lincoln products at a 16-acre facility in Hanford. In addition, they handle Internet sales through www.kellerdeal.com.

The President’s Scholars Program at West Hills College has grown dramatically over the last few years. When it was established in 1998 and until 2010, there were usually between 15 and 25 President’s Scholars enrolled at WHC. Since tuition at four-year colleges has increased so dramatically in recent years, the number of President’s Scholars has increased to over 100 enrolled this fall.

The scholarship provides tuition and $250 for books for four semesters at any WHC location, which includes Lemoore, Coalinga, Firebaugh and online. To qualify, high school seniors must have a 3.5 grade point average and have no D or F grades during their last three years of high school. To keep the scholarship they must maintain a 3.2 grade point average while at West Hills. All qualified applicants are accepted.

About one-third of the students in the program are Hanford residents, one-third are from Lemoore and the remainder are from Coalinga, Corcoran, Firebaugh, Mendota and surrounding communities.

To donate to the program or for more information on the scholarship, contact West Hills Community College Foundation Executive Director Frances Squire at (559) 934-2134 or francessquire@whccd.edu.