A scholarship fund for veteran students at Yavapai College is doing exactly what its founders envisioned: growing.

The Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies, an old west re-enactment group founded in 2004, recently delivered a $10,000 check to the Yavapai College Foundation. The contribution is the largest to date deposited in the Veterans, Military and Family Fund – a scholarship for student veterans and their families pursuing life-lifting education and career training at YC.

Group members, decked out in colorful frontier-era regalia, delivered the proceeds of their paid and volunteer re-enactment activities to YCF Executive Director Mary Talosi on Feb. 2.

“This is how scholarship fundraising happens and grows. The Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies start with a single donation and before you know it the amount increases as the group’s story – of doing what they love while helping student veterans -- is amplified. It’s a philanthropic success story we are very pleased to be a part of,” Talosi said.

Gathering for a photograph outside the YCF office to mark their fund-raising success, Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies principals said they expect the veteran scholarship fund to continue growing thanks to their generous fans and sponsors.

“When people find out what we’re collecting tips for, they’re very generous,” said Cyndi Barnes, explaining that a tip jar is a mainstay of Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies performances year-around. Additionally, the group benefits from Gold Sponsors, Blind Brothers Arizona, Mogollon Winery, Loskill Financial and APS.

The Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies established the YCF scholarship for veteran students in 2016. “Several of the members of our group themselves are veterans. That’s why we chose to support veterans at Yavapai College,” said Monty Packard, the group’s sergeant of arms.

Scholarship recipient thank-you letters and success stories, which are shared at meetings and functions, are all the reward and inspiration members need, said Paige Phares, the organization’s president. “I know that helps our fundraising.”

Along with helping student veterans succeed, the mission of the Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies is keeping the history of early Prescott alive – specifically the “wild west” years between 1866 and 1892. In 2008, the group was named the “Official Old West Ambassadors for the City of Prescott.” The group is sought after for living history lessons at area schools, for parades and community events, and private parties and weddings.

Many of the group’s original founders were World’s Oldest Rodeo volunteers. More recent volunteers are drawn to the group by a love of Prescott’s early history and the chance to relive it.

For more information about The Prescott Regulators & Their Shady Ladies, visit prescottregulators.org.

For information about the Yavapai College Foundation and scholarship giving opportunities, visit yc.edu/ycf.