Three Taranaki/Manawatu sportsmen were awarded Heartland Scholarships at the 4th Annual Heartland Scholarship Awards Evening on September 22nd.
Woodchopper Shane Jordan (Stratford) was awarded $4,000 as premiere winner, while New Plymouth's Kyle van der Merwe and Palmerston North's Rob Sheary were awarded $2,000 each.
Jordan is a self-employed sawmiller and part-time farmer. He's been wood chopping since the age of 14 and travels around New Zealand and Australia competing in shows. He finished second in the American Stihl Series this year and will be using his scholarship funds for future travel and the 2012 world championships.
Van der Merwe, 16, is aiming to become New Zealand's best javelin thrower and to represent New Zealand at the Olympics. Thanks to his scholarship he was able to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Britain.
Sheary, 27, lives in Palmerston North and was selected in the 2011 NZ Indoor cricket World Cup. His scholarship will help him with travel costs to South Africa next month.
With previous winners such as Paige Hareb, Clark Ellice and Aimee Watkins, Heartland is proud to support local high achievers in their ambitions to be the best.