The IBMA Foundation is proud to announce the following recipients of seven college scholarships for the 2025-26 school year. Two are first time awards: the Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship and the Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship!
The recipient of the first Mike Auldridge Memorial Scholarship is Hayden Reidling from Dawsonville, Georgia, who will be a sophomore at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Hayden is a guitarist who plans to major in music performance with acoustic guitar as his principal instrument, with a minor in roots music. Reidling said, “I am deeply inspired by the music of Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, IIIrd Tyme Out, Authentic Unlimited, and Tony Rice. Like all of them, I hope to put my own sound into the bluegrass genre. I want to do my part of preserving and spreading bluegrass music to the next generation of pickers, and to me the best way is through teaching.”
Mike Auldridge (1938-2012), legendary resophonic guitar stylist and a powerful influence for all those who play the sixth bluegrass instrument, is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the IBMA Bluegrass Hall of Fame twice—in 2014 as a member of the Seldom Scene and, again, in 2019 as a solo artist. He also received the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award in 2007. He was honored with the 2012 National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. Recipients of this scholarship, created in 2024 with a donation from Howard Parker, must play resophonic guitar, acoustic guitar, or steel guitar—the instruments Auldridge was known for.
Maggie Thornton will be the first recipient of the Gloria Belle Memorial Scholarship, created in 2024 by former IBMA Foundation board member Becky Buller and the leader of the Becky Buller Band. Maggie is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who is originally from Pittsboro, North Carolina. Her major is Environmental Studies and Hispanic Studies with a minor in Creative Writing for Music. A singer, guitarist, and banjo player, Maggie performs in the Carolina Bluegrass Band at UNC. In addition to writing and recording her own songs, Maggie says she hopes “to gain more knowledge of music production and publishing by taking courses at UNC-Chapel Hill and applying for internships in local music studios.” .
Gloria Belle Flickinger (1939-2023) was best known for her work with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys. She has been credited as the first lead-singing female bandleader, fronting her Green Mountain Travelers as early as 1957. This scholarship is for a student enrolled in a college, technical, or trade school who is also engaged in the bluegrass music community either as a musician, singer, or behind the scenes as a DJ, event promoter, graphic designer, videographer, photographer, or luthier.
The recipient of the J. D. Crowe Banjo Scholarship is Bayla Davis, who plans to attend Berklee College of Music the spring semester of 2026. Originally from Leicester, North Carolina, Bayla is an accomplished clawhammer style banjo player who has been performing since age six. She plans to earn a Professional Music Major at Berklee with an emphasis in Contemporary Songwriting, Music Performance, Recording and Production, Instrument Repair, and American Roots Music. “As I prepare for a journey at Berklee College of Music, I imagine an experience that goes beyond mere musical achievement,” she said. “I’m eager to forge meaningful connections with professors, peers, and mentors who can offer advice and lifelong friendships and collaborations.”
Legendary banjo stylist and Bluegrass Hall of Fame member J. D. Crowe (1937-2021) was one of the most influential banjo players in the history of bluegrass music. His longtime friend and fellow Kentucky bluegrass musician, Arthur Hancock III, endowed this scholarship in 2022 in Crowe’s memory, along with his son, Arthur Hancock IV, a former member of the IBMA Foundation board of directors.
The recipient of the Katy Daley Broadcaster & Sound Engineering Scholarship, Thomas “Teak” Porter, graduated from high school in Phoenix, Arizona and will be studying audio engineering in the fall at Blackbird Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. “I’ve grown up around bluegrass music, playing guitar with my dad and sister at festivals,” Teak said, “and I’ve participated in IBMA’s Kids on Bluegrass program. My goals are to become a session musician and tour professionally with a band. I have a whole studio set up in my bathroom now, and I would love to pursue studio work as well as continue playing guitar.”
Katy Daley, the first female broadcaster to be inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame (2024), has a 30+ year career in bluegrass (WAMU-FM and Bluegrass Country) and country (WMZQ) radio in the Washington, D.C. area. Katy was named IBMA Bluegrass Broadcaster of the Year in 2009 and 2011. In 2019 she received the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award for her contributions to bluegrass music. She is a new member of the IBMA Foundation board of directors.
Originally from Metcalfe, Ontario, Canada, Reid Warren, the recipient of the IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship, is a junior at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. Warren is majoring in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music with a concentration in bluegrass performance, and plays fiddle with the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band. Warren was inspired to pursue bluegrass music at age 14 after hearing Ricky Skaggs in concert with Dominick Leslie and Mike Barnett. “Being at ETSU, I’ve discovered how diverse aspects of performing bluegrass can be and how much one needs to know to be doing it full-time,” Reid said. “From marketing, finances, and legal knowledge, to instrument maintenance, and tour management, these are all things I am preparing to deal with on a professional level. I am hoping to teach, as well.” He is the first international recipient of an IBMA Foundation scholarship.
The IBMA Bluegrass College Scholarship was conceived by the IBMA Board of Directors and initially funded by Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, Alan Tompkins, Katy Daley, Lee Zapis, and several others.
The Rick Lang Music Songwriter Scholarship will go to Alaina Majkrzak, a senior at East Tennessee State University who is majoring in Bluegrass, Old-time, & Roots Music with a concentration in audio production. In addition to writing, Alaina is a guitarist and singer. “Music has always been my passion and purpose,” Alaina said. “Mentorship from instructors and support from the university’s music community have affirmed this calling,” she said. “I am committed to growing as a musician, a collaborator, and a changemaker—using my education not just to perform, but to crate meaningful impact through music.” Majkrazak lives in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Rick and Wendy Lang funded this scholarship endowment, and it continues to be supported by others interested in the future of bluegrass songwriting. Rick is a Grammy-nominated writer, past chair of the IBMA Songwriter Committee, and a volunteer with the IBMA Songwriter Mentor Program. The scholarship goes to a student majoring in a subject related to songwriting. Applicants must be IBMA members.
Megan Mendenhall will receive the Sally Ann Forrester Scholarship. Megan is a senior at East Tennessee State University majoring in Bluegrass, Old-time, & Roots Music, and she plays banjo and Dobro. Inspired by Alison Brown at a Freshgrass competition in 2021, Megan began making plans for a full-time career in bluegrass music. “For the past six years I have been playing gigs with my band which has fueled my passion for performing,” she said. “In addition to performing, I would also like to work as a session musician. Over the past few years, I have compiled a list of tunes I have written and would like to record them and share my music with others.” Mendenhall lives in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Initial funds for the Forrester scholarships were donated by Murphy Hicks Henry, author of Pretty Good for a Girl: Women in Bluegrass (University of Illinois Press) and co-founder with her husband, Red Henry, of The Murphy Method instructional media company. Sally Ann Forrester played accordion and sang as a member of Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys from 1943-1946, becoming the first female professional bluegrass musician in history. Support for the 2025 scholarship came from Robert Forrester, son of Howdy and Sally Ann Forrester. Contributions to IBMA Foundation scholarships are welcome throughout the year. Permanent endowments have been established at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to help fund all the scholarships listed above, but additional donations are needed to sustain and increase the annual award amount for each scholarship. For more information, please go to www.bluegrassfoundation.org.
RETURN to the August 2025 issue of The Cornerstone.
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