Charlie and Vita Snowden Scholarship Program
Charles C. Snowden Sr. was a graduate of the 84th Session (11/5/1969) and was an active member of the Florida FBI National Academy Associates. During his career as a sworn law enforcement officer, he was a Captain at the Gainesville Police Department until his retirement in 1981. Later, he returned to law enforcement and worked for the Alachua County Sheriff's Office until 1996.
In 1978, Charlie became the Executive Secretary / Treasurer for the Florida FBI National Academy Associates. He was the “backbone” of the Florida FBINAA, handling the day to day operations of the organization. He handled all the annual renewals for membership which was done in conjunction with the Jacksonville, Tampa and Miami FBI Field Offices. All communications were handled by mail in those days. Today, we tend to forget the extra work and how labor intensive this was in the current electronic communications world we live in today. As an example, Charlie printed, folded and mailed out over 1000 envelopes to update each member, including the annual membership form and a newsletter from the incoming President and Charlie. Once the renewal was processed, he would then mail out the annual membership card from the Florida FBINAA to each member. Back in those days, a new member was also sent an official Florida FBINAA Chapter shirt, which was Orange with Blue lettering. For those of you who are not familiar with those colors, they are the same colors as the University of Florida Gators. Apparently, no coincidence that Charlie just happened to be a charter member and past president of both the Fightin' Gator Touchdown Club and the Gator Dugout Club. It appears he was able to combine two of his passions in one simple shirt that all the members of his chapter received.
During the Florida FBINAA annual conference in 1999, Charlie and Vita Snowden were recognized for their years of support and work on behalf of the FBINAA (national) and the Florida FBINAA. The membership voted to make both Charlie and Vita lifetime members and to cover their attendance to all future Florida FBINAA conferences. Sadly, Charlie passed away shortly after on August 22, 1999. Charlie is survived by his wife, Vita Parrish Snowden of Gainesville; two sons, Charles C. "Chuck" Snowden Jr. and Danny L. Snowden, both of Gainesville; two sisters, Margaret Youngblood and Linda King, both of Gainesville; a brother, W.C. "Buck" Snowden of Gainesville; and four grandchildren.
Vita Snowden has remained a close and dear friend of the entire Florida FBINAA. Annually, she donates funds to the FBINAA Scholarship Fund, which was dedicated to the memory of both Charlie and Vita Snowden. The members of the Florida FBINAA are eternally grateful for pioneers like Charlie and Vita Snowden who poured the foundation of the Florida FBINAA. Without question, Charlie and Vita Snowden leave a profound legacy for our organization, and it is an honor to fulfill their vision to provide educational funding through the Charlie and Vita Snowden Scholarship Program to children of our members.
Annually, the Florida FBINAA Board selects numerous applicants to be the recipients of scholarship funding. Please click on the scholarship application link below and save it to your computer or device. The PDF application is fillable. When complete, please send the completed application to the Florida FBINAA Secretary at [email protected]. The application is due by midnight on April 15th of each year. The recipients will be notified in July or August of each year, typically at the annual Florida FBINAA conference.
