DECATUR - While you are not supposed to look gift horses in the mouth, sitting down with generous strangers to say "thank you" seems like the decent thing to do.

Such was the spirit at Richland Community College on Sunday for the Scholarship Reception. The event, which had 500 guests, honored Richland students on the receiving end of more than 200 scholarships and some of the benefactors who made them possible, such as Alice Scherer.

Together with her late husband, she created the Walter and Alice Scherer Scholarship, which funds two years of study at Richland for "outstanding students" and, if they keep their grades up, pays for them to finish their four-year degrees at a public university in Illinois, too.

All smiles as they stood near Alice Scherer on Sunday were two of the nine recipients this year: Kathryn Barnes, 19, of Argenta, and Daniel Scott, also 19, of Cisco.

"This is really nice, and it's giving me a lot of different opportunities," said Barnes, a business major in her first year. She isn't sure what career she will pursue yet, she said, "but I know I want to travel."

Scott, a sophomore, says he realizes the value of the scholarship and what it means to his future.

"Without it, I would probably have had to work my way through college, or college would have to be spread out over more years," he said. "And having the scholarship makes me want to work harder, too, because you've got to keep your grades high to maintain it."

All music to the ears of Scherer, who estimates that more than 60 students have benefited from her family's generosity since the scholarship was created back in 1991.

"It makes me feel wonderful," said Scherer, who lives in Decatur. "I feel like I am accomplishing something, I feel like I am doing some good."

Students and benefactors shared hors d'oeuvres and heard speeches from dentist Larry Osborne, a member of the Richland board of trustees and a 1976 graduate, and Gayle Saunders, the college president. Saunders said bringing students and their benefactors face to face was important on several levels.

"It puts a human face on everything, much better than just getting a check," she said. "And I think it can inspire the students, give them something to strive for."

Tony Reid can be reached at treid@herald-review.com or 421-7977.