The Eastern Surfing Association’s Marsh Scholarship
Since 2008, Doug Starcke has served as the managing partner of First Flight Solutions in Emerald Isle, North Carolina. An avid surfer, Doug Starcke also co-owns South Swell Surf Shop and maintains membership in the Eastern Surfing Association. For nearly 50 years, the Eastern Surfing Association has organized amateur surfing competitions along the entire East Coast. Today, the organization operates 26 separate districts and holds more than 150 competitions each year. In addition to its activities managing surfing competitions, the Eastern Surfing Association conducts other programs to support the surfing community. Since 1981, the organization has offered the Marsh Scholarship Program, which provides financial aid to young surfers heading to college. To qualify for a Marsh Scholarship, applicants must be a member of the Eastern Surfing Association and submit a school transcript along with a letter of recommendation and a short essay outlining their future academic and career goals. Although the scholarship is for surfers, it is not awarded based on athletic ability but on academic performance. Each year, the Association awards approximately $8,000 to deserving students in states throughout the East.