Bailey White, 18, of Hebron will head to the University of Kentucky in August with a $1,000 boost from a scholarship rooted in the land where she first learned to read.
White is the 2026 recipient of the Bingham-Neal Excellence Scholarship, awarded by Amy Neal Bundy, founder and president of the Bingham Strategy Group. The scholarship honors Bundy's parents, Shirley Bingham Neal and Ronald Neal, whose family owned the more than 237-acre Hebron farm that became North Pointe Elementary School in Boone County.
White attended North Pointe as a child. She graduated from Conner High School and will study Human Health Services on a pre-pharmacy track at UK, where she'll live in the Honors dorm.
Bundy selected White from about a half-dozen North Pointe alumni who applied.
"Bailey's application really touched my heart," Bundy told the NKyTribune. "She is a high achiever in all fields, but when she talked about working at Colonial Heights in Florence, she said that when one of the elderly residents had a heart attack, she realized she wanted to make an effort to slow down and listen more to what the residents had to say. It isn't a usual thing for someone so young to be so mature and empathetic."
White works at Colonial Heights in Florence. She said witnessing that medical emergency deepened her commitment to listening and empathy in health care.
At Conner High, White served as an FFA leader with the highest GPA in her chapter, earned a Kentucky Governor's Scholar designation, competed in public speaking, led the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, and organized the school's March Madness food drive, which collected about 1,650 donations for hungry families.
Bundy established the scholarship in 2021 after both her parents died within months of each other. Memorial donations funded the award. Shirley Bingham Neal was the last of the Bingham family, born in Newport in 1936 and raised on the Hebron farm. She attended Hebron High School as part of its final graduating class before the school closed. Ronald Neal, born in Newport in 1934, was the first in his family to attend college and won a scholarship to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
The Bingham farm was sold in the late 1990s. A library at North Pointe Elementary was named after Bundy's grandparents, Raymond and Shirley Bingham, in 2000, and a street in the North Pointe subdivision also bears their name.
Five students have received the scholarship since 2021. It is open to North Pointe Elementary alumni. Kelly Smith, principal at North Pointe, has supported the program.
White said she found the scholarship through a spreadsheet her school counselor at Conner High set up. She plans to use the money for books, tuition, or whatever she needs to pursue her degree.
Upcoming Boone County community events
- Saturday, July 18 — Summer Concert Series: Florence Community Band, Boone Woods Park Amphitheater, 7–8:30 p.m., free
- Saturday, July 18 — Touch-A-Truck, England Idlewild Park, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., free
- Thursday, July 23 — Family Fun Night: River City Puppets, Boone Woods Park Amphitheater, 7–7:45 p.m., free
- Friday, July 24 — Parks Movie Night, Boone Woods Park Amphitheater, activities at 7 p.m., movie at dark, free
- Thursday, July 30 — Family Fun Night: Cincinnati Shakespeare, Boone Woods Park Amphitheater, 7–7:45 p.m., free
