Jacksonville, Florida — Now in its tenth year, the Bernie G. Yvon Memorial Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida is awarding scholarships to eleven performing arts students: ten in celebration of the milestone, plus one additional award in honor of Professor Bernard Rene Yvon (affectionately known as Ol’ Bern), Bernie’s father, who passed away in December 2025.
Bernie G. Yvon was a beloved Chicago-area, “triple threat” actor who passed away in 2014. In 2015, his parents established The Bernie G. Yvon Memorial Fund at The Community Foundation, near their home in Ormond Beach, and it has been supported by donations from Bernie’s friends and colleagues.
The scholarship is available to students nationwide. With these awards, a total of 55 students have now had a helping hand from the Bernie G. Yvon Memorial Fund since it began. Awards of $1,000 each have been presented to these outstanding students for the 2026–2027 school year:
Somni Baboulis from Dumont, New Jersey, attending Emerson University in Boston, MA
Emerson Bishop from Davidson, NC, attending Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC
Allison Cento from St. Augustine, FL, attending Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL
Austin Fields from St. Augustine, FL, attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL
Mia Frohlich from East Hampton, New York, attending University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA
Jordyn Helvie from Grayslake, Illinois, attending Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI
Aidan Krepin from Mars, Pennsylvania, attending University of North Carolina Greensboro in Greensboro, NC
Evangeline Meister from Lamoine, Maine, attending Millikin University in Decatur, IL
Amelia Moss from Newark, Delaware, attending Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY
Braylie Edair Smolder from Winfield, West Virginia, attending Long Island University Brooklyn in Brooklyn, NY
Ava Zientek from Brandon, FL, attending the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN
“These dedicated and ambitious young performers need the financial support to make their dreams come true,” said Gail Yvon, Bernie’s mother. “Bernie would have wanted them to have the same opportunity for a happy life that he had, and we believe this will help them achieve that goal.”
The Bernie G. Yvon Memorial Fund makes scholarships annually in Bernie’s memory. To donate to the fund, please go to www.jaxcf.org/memorial. To learn more about “triple threat” Bernie and this scholarship, visit www.bernieyvon.com.
About Bernie G. Yvon (1964-2014)
Bernie was raised in Old Town, Maine and after graduation from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, quickly became a fixture in Chicago-area live theater. For three decades, he was the consummate song-and-dance man, performing in such classics as Cabaret, Mary Poppins, The Music Man, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The majority of his career was in Chicago, but he played the role of Harry Houdini in the national tour of Ragtime, and also worked on Broadway and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
About The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida
The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida (www.jaxcf.org), Florida’s oldest and largest community foundation, works to stimulate philanthropy to build a better community. The Foundation helps donors invest their philanthropic gifts wisely, helps nonprofits serve the region effectively, and helps people come together to make the community a better place. Now in its 60th year, the Foundation manages more than $650 million in assets as of 12/31/2023 and has made more than $750 million in grants since inception.