International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1408 Scholarship Fund raises nearly $50,000 for local students during 27th annual golf tournament
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- International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1408 Scholarship Fund raises nearly $50,000 for local students during 27th annual golf tournament
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 1408 Scholarship Fund, affiliated with labor union ILA Local 1408, raised nearly $50,000 for local students’ scholarships during its 27th annual golf tournament. ILA 1408 represents many of the longshoremen and dock workers who move cargo through JAXPORT’s terminals.
Today’s tournament at Hidden Hills Golf Club is the fund’s primary fundraiser and attracted national labor union representatives, area business leaders and labor union members throughout the maritime industry.
About 40 percent of ILA Local 1408 Scholarship Fund recipients are first-generation college students. Since its inception in 1995, the ILA 1408 scholarship program has awarded nearly 1,000 scholarships totaling nearly a million dollars. Jadene King, Executive Director of the ILA Local 1408 Scholarship Fund, said supporting area students is more important now than ever due to the lingering impacts of the pandemic.
“The need is tremendous,” said King. “We’re making sure that we still give to these students that are so deserving, that have excelled in school through a pandemic, and have weathered the storm academically. Now we need to help them financially.”
The scholarship program was founded by Charles Spencer, who has served Jacksonville’s port community in positions of increasing responsibility with the ILA for the last 58 years. In 2021, the Jacksonville Jaguars and TIAA Bank recognized Spencer as a Community Champion for his work with the fund.
ILA Local 1408 is a local chapter of the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO, the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 65,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada.
Local 1408 helps connect more than 1,100 men and women with jobs at JAXPORT. Opportunities for these members continue to grow along with the port.