Davenport, Iowa (November 6, 2015) - Gilda's Club and CCKMA are teaming up to present the first Cancer Kickin' Scholarship. Four $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to students impacted by cancer - whether it is themselves, a parent, sibling, other relative or friend with the diagnosis.

Students must be current high school juniors/seniors or currently in their first or second year of college to apply. Applicants must reside in Scott, Rock Island, Muscatine County or Henry County.

Application submissions are due February 1, 2016. Scholarship forms are available online at CancerKickinScholarship.com, at Gilda's Club (1234 East River Drive, Davenport) or by calling Kelly Hendershot at (563) 326-7504.

Recipients will be recognized on April 9, 2016 at the 9th Annual CCKMA Event. Recipients will be chosen by a panel of celebrity judges:

• Greg Dwyer, Dwyer and Michaels Morning, 97x

• Denise Hnytka, Co-Anchor, News 8 WQAD

• John Marx, Columnist, The Dispatch/Rock Island Argus

• Taylor Weibers, Miss Iowa

"Dealing with cancer, at any age, is an emotional whirlwind," said Kelly Hendershot, Program Manager. "For children and teens, it can unleash a storm of emotions, questions, and unexpected discoveries. We want to hear about those experiences."

Applicants will enroll in an undergraduate course of study during the 2016-2017 (or 2017-2018 if applying as a high school junior) school-year at an accredited two or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school in the U.S.

Scholarship recipients are eligible to re-apply each year they are eligible. Applications must be completed each year and submitted to the scholarship committee.

CCKMA's founder, Angie DeWilfond, died in July 2015 after living eight years with ovarian cancer, followed by leukemia.

"Angie wanted to give back to the local community that has supported and given so generously to CCKMA through various fundraiser events each year," said CCKMA President Krista Lindbeck. "So we are now working with Gilda's Club to make this dream of Angie's a reality with the Cancer Kickin' Scholarship."

About Gilda's Club

Free of charge, Gilda's Club Quad Cities provides support, education and hope to all people affected by cancer.  As a Cancer Support Community affiliate, we are part of the largest employer of psychosocial oncology mental health professionals in the United States.  Our global network brings the highest quality cancer support to the millions of people touched by cancer.

About CCKMA

Angie DeWilfond, founder of CCKMA, was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer in 2007. The wife and mother of two young kids decided not to let Cancer Kick Her A..! In 2008, she held a small get together with friends and the support was so overwhelming that an annual fundraising event was held each year after that for much needed research funds. This annual event brings cancer survivors along with their family and friends to celebrate life. It is also an evening of tribute to those we have lost to cancer.

Already dreading what you'll spend this holiday season? It doesn't have to be that way.

Gifts aren't the only budget-busting culprit during the holidays. The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's are also a peak time for spending on groceries, travel, events, entertainment, energy, clothes and meals out.

Financial advisors recommend you use no more than 1.5 percent of your annual income on holiday spending (http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/holiday), so consider the following suggestions to keep it under control:

Start with a list and make a budget. Begin your planning by listing every possible holiday expense you'll face - and don't stop at gifts. Consult the Practical Money Skills for Life comprehensive holiday budget planner (http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/yourholidaybudget) to help organize your information and track your spending.

Be open about money trouble. If you are facing financial difficulties during the holiday season, don't spend to hide the problem. Don't be ashamed to make adjustments and tell friends and family members that you'd like to temporarily downsize your spending until conditions improve. They might actually appreciate a spending reprieve, too.

Build a bargain-hunting strike force. Let friends and family know you're looking for particular toys, gifts, foods or decorating items and volunteer to do the same for them. Save and share coupons. Encourage your group to find resources, check prices and share requests and ideas via social media. Results can come back in a matter of minutes.

Evaluate all transportation costs. Do you really need to run out of one or two items at a time? Designate certain days of the week for particular items, keep an eye out for free delivery and see if friends and family might want to share errands. Those with large vehicles or trucks can help move, deliver and even install appliances or electronics if they have the skills to do so. Smart transportation choices extend to car pools or public transportation for events and entertainment.

Leverage your creativity. If there's something you make or do really well that people love, consider making such accomplishments into gifts. From specialty food items your friends enjoy, to clothing or art, anything done well can be a gift. Don't rule out lessons or skilled labor as potential holiday gifts, particularly for relatives who can't afford such services at this time. Smart shopping for ingredients or supplies can make such creative gifts a real money saver.

Build a year-round gift stash. If there are gifts or foodstuffs you can buy on sale and keep for a while, you'll have a ready source of thank-you gifts for hosts, teachers or co-workers year-round. Set aside a similar area for cards, gift tags and wrapping paper. Also keep in mind that many retailers put holiday-themed items on sale before the holidays are finished. If you think you'll need these items next year, grab your coupons, take advantage and put those items aside for future gift giving.

Late saving for gifts? Do it anyway. If you don't have a holiday fund set up, don't let that keep you from starting one. Every little bit helps. Take 5-10 percent of your next paycheck and set it aside, doing it each week throughout the holidays. If you keep it up, your holiday fund can eventually become an emergency fund to be used for other savings goals, including retirement.

Take notes for next holiday season. Create a paper or digital file where you can collect ideas for next year. Check print and online resources like Consumer Reports for items that can be bought at specific times of the year at a discount so you are able to hide them for the holidays - but remember where you hid them.

Bottom line: Keeping holidays affordable isn't a challenge when you're willing to do a little planning, idea-sharing and record-keeping. Make it an activity you can do year-round.

INDIANAPOLIS (Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015/National FFA Organization) - Students from Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Iowa, Georgia and Utah have been elected by delegates from throughout the United States to serve on the 2015-16 National FFA Officer team.

Taylor McNeel of Arkansas, an agricultural business major at Southern Arkansas University, was elected president. Nick Baker of Tennessee, an agricultural communications major at the University of Tennessee, will serve as secretary.

Sydney Snider of Ohio, an agricultural communications major at The Ohio State University, was elected eastern region vice president and Abrah Meyer of Iowa, an agricultural business major at Iowa State University, will serve as central region vice president.

Abbey Gretsch of Georgia, an agricultural communications major at the University of Georgia, was elected southern region vice president and Sarah Draper of Utah, an agricultural education major at Utah State University, will serve as western region vice president.

Each year at the National FFA Convention & Expo, six students are elected by delegates to represent the organization as National FFA officers. Delegates elect a president, secretary and vice presidents representing the central, southern, eastern and western regions of the country.

National officers commit to a year of service to the National FFA Organization. Each travels more than 100,000 national and international miles to interact with business and industry leaders, thousands of FFA members and teachers, corporate sponsors, government and education officials, state FFA leaders, the general public and more. The team will lead personal growth and leadership training conferences for FFA members throughout the country and help set policies that will guide the future of FFA and promote agricultural literacy.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 629,367 student members who belong to one of 7,757 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

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Q: What can Congress do to address the high prices for prescription medicines?

A:  There's no doubt that the price of prescription medicines is a big concern for Iowans. This issue comes up repeatedly at my town meetings. It's not only a pocketbook issue that squeezes household budgets. It's a matter of affording life-saving access to medicine to treat cancer, or paying for prescription drugs that help improve the quality of life for family members suffering from chronic diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes and epilepsy, as an example. Thanks to innovation, research and development, modern medicine is performing medical miracles that are keeping patients healthier, stronger and living longer. By most every measure, from research and development to clinical trials and everything else that goes into bringing a drug to market, it requires significant investment and financial capital. Companies that have invested in costly and lengthy research and development to create the next modern miracle drugs should be able to reap the benefits of their investment in innovation. We also want to ensure that consumers have access to more choice and cheaper alternatives as soon as possible. My bipartisan Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act is a good place to start. It would fix an anti-competitive practice in which a brand name drug company pays a generic competitor to keep its products off the market. It's a business arrangement often referred to as "pay-for-delay."

Q: How do pay-for-delay deals work?

A: Consumers are paying artificially higher prices for certain drugs that are on the market. What's happening is brand name drug companies are paying certain generic drug companies to delay bringing their product to market. They are reaching patent settlement agreements that twist logic on its head. This pay-to-delay practice is anti-competitive and unlawful. A 2014 report from the Federal Trade Commission listed 29 potential pay-for-delay settlements that involved 21 brand name pharmaceutical products. The FTC reported the combined U.S. sales for these brand name drugs reached roughly $4.3 billion. When brand name pharmaceutical giants use anti-competitive "pay-for-delay" agreements to keep less expensive generics off the pharmacy store shelves, it prevents competition from putting downward pressure on retail drug prices. Ultimately, these sweetheart deals are keeping more affordable prescription drugs out of consumers' medicine cabinets. Pay-for-delay drives up out-of-pocket costs for sick patients. Such anti-competitive pay-offs are rip-offs to consumers and the taxpaying public.

Q: How would your bill fix this problem?