Sahar Salek of Saratoga High School and Kevin Webb of Los Gatos High were among the recipients of the annual scholarship program funded by the Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation.

"In our industry, we feel fortunate to be able to give back to the community and our local scholars through our scholarship program," said Willi Krauss, president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors. "By providing scholarships to very deserving individuals, the members of our association feel that we can help local students grow, succeed and achieve their dreams."

The scholarship program recognizes students with outstanding achievements in academics, extracurricular/ employment activities and community involvement. The selection committee included representatives from the local business community, area high schools, area colleges and the association.

The 16 other students honored with scholarships this year were Nicole Terrazas, Leigh; Qunigshan Sun, Prospect; Nicole Hess, Westmont; Peter Griffen, Cupertino; Meena Siddiqui, Homestead; Kenneth Mendes, Fremont; Lilia Cherkasskiy, Lynbrook; June-Ho Kim, Monta Vista; Geidy Baldeon, Los Altos; Lisa Kerner, Mountain View; Elissa Brown, Gunn; Taylor Whitfield, Palo Alto; Pedro Medina, Santa Clara; Stanford Tran, Wilcox; Taylor Margot, Menlo-Atherton; and Judith Prothro, Woodside.

"We are excited about being able to assist the deserving winners in beginning their college careers," said Silicon Valley Association of Realtors' scholarship chairwoman Nina Yamaguchi, manager of the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Cupertino. "The nominees for the SILVAR Scholarship Program are always among the cream of the crop and this year was no exception," she added.

Realtor association representatives attended senior award ceremonies at the various high schools to present personally the scholarships to the winning students, Yamaguchi said. Scholarship recipients are selected from the high schools in the communities served by the more than 3,800 members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

The foundation makes grants available to organizations from donations by its Realtor and affiliate members and friends and is a wholly owned 501(c)3 subsidiary. In addition to student scholarships, the Charitable Foundation Trust also awards approximately $150,000 in grants annually to nonprofit organizations in the areas of youth, housing and education.

Information provided in this column is presented by the Realtor members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors at www.silvar.org. Send questions on any topic to gmeissner@silvar.org.