- Residents of Connecticut with a preference for the Town of Suffield
- Demonstrate an interest in one or more of the following: gardening, the protection of trees, plants an birds, civic beautification and/or the environment. Including not limited to students who may be majoring in one of the following fields of study: Agricultural Sciences, Bioengineering Sciences, Forestry, Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, Botany/Plant Sciences, Wildlife Science, Environmental Concerns, (Management: Environmental, Horticultire Resource/Environmental Behavior), Environmental Conservation (inc. Engineering, Law, etc.), Land Management and/or other related or allied subjects
- Involved with volunteer, community service, and/or extracurricular activities
- Demonstrated financial need
After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, Betty Jean Welker Stroh built a career as a designer and artist, planning subdivisions of starter homes in the Hartford area and designing walkways and plantings on Constitution Plaza.
She and her late husband Charles made their home on Suffield’s Hilltop Farm where they became well known for breeding thoroughbred horses, Holstein cattle, and German wire-haired pointers. The Strohs made their home permanently available to the Town of Suffield for conservation and public use. Today, Hilltop Farm is a premier venue for countless community and private events.
Betty was an active member the Suffield Garden Club for many years and left a gift through her will. To honor her generosity, in 2025, the members of the Garden Club established a college scholarship in her name, awarded to a student who demonstrates interest in gardening, trees, plants, birds, civic beautification, or the environment.
“Betty was a wonderful artist,” said Garden Club president Joyce Zien. “Today, people are still enjoying the environments she helped to build. There is hardly anyone in Suffield today who doesn’t benefit from her work. Establishing an endowed scholarship for students was the best way we could find to ensure her work continues.”