Please Support The Detective Barry Pruette Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Barry Pruette

My fellow officers and I started this scholarship in Barry's name to provide assistance to young men and women from all walks of life who want to become law enforcement officers, whether local, state or federal. The original motto was "Education, Diversity, Professionalism."

Late last year, we finally reached our goal of $25,000, ensuring that the scholarship will be awarded in perpetuity. The following news release was published in "For The Record," a publication of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida.

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"A scholarship awarded to criminal justice students at the University of Central Florida in Orlando to memorialize Altamonte Springs Police Detective Barry Pruette will now be awarded in perpetuity thanks to the generosity of the Altamonte Springs Police Department and Altamonte Springs Rotary Club.

The organizations established the Detective Barry Pruette Memorial Scholarship in 2001 to honor Pruette, a highly respected member of the department who died two years earlier, at age 42, from a heart attack. Pruette served the department in many roles, including patrol officer, traffic officer and detective. He was especially passionate about working as a field training officer, helping to mold new officers.

Each year since 2001, the Rotary Club has funded a $1,000 scholarship to an undergraduate or graduate criminal justice student in Pruette’s memory.  In 2007, the club began making contributions toward an endowment fund for the scholarship as well. Police department employees followed suit and began making contributions through lump-sum gifts or payroll deductions. In late 2010, the organizations reached the requisite $25,000 in donations needed to endow the scholarship at UCF. The scholarship is now named the Detective Barry Pruette Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

'It’s a great collaboration,” said college Dean Michael Frumkin. “It allows us to support the preparation of future police officers. Their effort is absolutely amazing.'"

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Although the scholarship is now a perpetual one, the annual endowment will be based on the interest received. Therefore continued donations will help to increase the principal upon which that interest is based.

If you wish to donate to the scholarship fund, please send your check to the "Detective Barry Pruette Memorial Endowed Scholarship" c/o The UCF College of Health and Public Affairs, Department of Criminal Justice, P.O. Box 161600, Orlando, Florida 32816-1600.

Thank you, and please pass this on.

Charles M. Grist

www.MyLastWar.com