Mt. Olive Pickle Company’s Employees Community Fund has awarded four $4,000 scholarships to children of employees.

Recipients are Austin Espinosa, Kiara Kornegay, Douglas Davidson, and Michael Marcin.

Espinosa is the son of Michelle Espinosa and Mt. Olive Pickle employee Ricardo Espinosa. A senior at Southern Wayne High School, he will enter Wayne Community College in the fall to obtain a transferrable associates degree and take welding classes. He plans on transferring to the University of Mount Olive to study Agricultural Business and Livestock Management. He also plans to serve in the National Guard.

Kornegay is the daughter of Vincent Smith and Mt. Olive Pickle employee Kimberly Kornegay. She is a senior at Southern Wayne High School and plans to enter the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to study marketing.

Davidson is the son of Michele Davidson and Mt. Olive Pickle employee Scott Davidson. He is a Spring Creek High School senior and will attend Wayne Community College in the fall. He hopes to transfer after two years to further his education to become a physical therapist.

Marcin is the son of Mendy Marcin and Mt. Olive Pickle employee Michael Marcin. He is a senior at North Duplin Jr/Sr. High School and will attend Wayne Community College in the fall to study automotive systems technology.

The scholarships, created by the Employees Community Fund in 2006, are open to employees who are regular active employees at Mt. Olive for five or more years and also members of the Employees Community Fund for the past three years. The scholarships are open to eligible employees’ children, step-children, or grandchildren who are either high school seniors or full-time college students with at least 12 hours.

Established in 1959, the Employees Community Fund is supported by the Mt. Olive employees, who donate 30 cents of every $100 of their gross wages to the fund. The company then matches employee contributions. This year, the Employees Community Fund contributed $130,770 to 50 area non-profit community organizations, in addition to the scholarships.

In business since 1926, Mt. Olive packs and sells the best-selling brand of pickles, peppers and relishes in the country.