Katie Nellis of Fort Plain and Nathan Bartman of Amsterdam have been named winners of the Fulmont Roadrunners Club’s 2006 James R. Dern Memorial Scholarships. The athletes received their $500 awards in ceremonies following the club’s Mule Haul road race.

Katie, the daughter of John and Christine Nellis, was an outstanding student-athlete at Fort Plain High, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and active in the Student Council and Superintendents/Students Advisor Committee, serving as president of those two organizations her senior year. Throughout her high school years she also was active in Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), the band and marching band, and Future Farmers of America, and she was the school’s top female athlete. She was a four-year member of the varsity cross-country team and also competed at the varsity level in basketball and softball, serving as captain of those teams in her senior year. Katie also was active in the OHM Jr. Holstein Club and 4-H and in her church, where she was a Sunday school teaching assistant. In addition, she played and plays a key role on her home dairy farm, the Nellis Acres Dairy, where she manages the milking herd and 25 of her own animals. Katie will be studying dairy science/agri-business at the State University of New York at Morrisville and plans to finish her degree at Cornell University. Her goal is to eventually take over the home dairy business.

Nate, the son of Ronald and Nora Bartman, was an outstanding student and dedicated runner at Amsterdam High School. He finished third in his graduating class of 211 with a 95.6 average achieved while taking numerous honors and advanced-placement college courses. Among his scholastic honors was the Bausch and Lomb Science Award. As a runner, Nate has been involved in track and field since the seventh grade and cross country since the eighth. His first love was cross country, where, through dedication and hard work, he became a leader of the team and one of its top runners. He was co-captain in his senior year. Nate also contributed to his school community in many other ways. He was the driving force in the establishment of a SADD chapter at AHS, was active in the National Honor Society, and was selected to represent his class at the American Legion Boys’ State. He works part time at a local sporting goods store and on weekends serves as an alter server and lector at his church. Nate will be attending Ithaca College in the fall and plans to transfer to the Sport Institute of Finland next year. He will be majoring in exercise science/exercise physiology and would like to get a job coaching and testing athletes after he gets his degree.

Katie and Nate are the 23rd and 24th recipients of the scholarship that bears the name of the late Jim Dern, a Canajoharie resident, Beechnut executive, and longtime running enthusiast and FMRRC member. With this year’s awards, more than $11,000 in scholarships have been granted to young men and women from eight area high schools. The awards program was begun in 1995.