Friends of the Library present 2025 Nellie Stockwell Memorial Grant

The Friends of the Tuscarawas County Public Library–New Philadelphia have announced the recipients of the 2025 Nellie Stockwell Memorial Grant in Aid.

Katie Fisher, a 2025 graduate of Garaway High School, and Markus Beachy, a student at Kent State University at Tuscarawas, are co-recipients of the $1,000 grant, named after the county library system’s first librarian.

The Nellie Stockwell Memorial Grant in Aid is awarded annually to individuals who have graduated from a local high school or are Tuscarawas County residents pursuing higher education. Applicants are required to submit a 500-word essay on why the Tuscarawas County Public Library System is important to them.

Fisher wrote in her essay: “I will always be an advocate for the fact that everyone should have access and the right to books and education, so I will always believe that libraries are incredibly important.”

Beachy shared: “In the world we live in today, having a place where people can show up in order to find resources and reliable information is more important now than ever.”

The next Nellie Stockwell Memorial Grant in Aid will open in spring 2026.