Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship
2024 Application Process
The NATSO Foundation is no longer accepting applications for the 2024 Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship.
The 2024 Scholarship Recipients will be selected and notified before the end of the summer of 2024 and announced sometime during the fall of 2024.
Complete this form to be alerted when the 2025 scholarship application process is open.
For information about the scholarship program, please contact Afua Smith at billmoonscholarship@
Donate to the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship Program
For more than 20 years, the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship Program has been assisting industry students planning for their post-secondary education. You can make a secure on-line donation to the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship Program today.
2023 Scholarship Recipients
The recipients of the NATSO Foundation’s 2023 Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship each received $5,000. Recipients are:
- Creasap Densmore, who represents Petro Stopping Center #352, Gadsden, Alabama
- Karlee Erickson, who represents TravelCenters of America - Franklin, Franklin, Tennessee
- Alexander Lopez, who represents TravelCenters of America Corporate, Westlake, Ohio
- Katie Nelsen, who represents Sapp Bros. Columbus, Columbus, Nebraska
- Melanie Terrill, who represents Busy Bee #32, Lake City, Florida
The NATSO Foundation awarded $25,000 in scholarships to deserving students with ties to the truckstop and travel plaza industry to put toward higher education. Five students each were awarded $5,000 under the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship, which helps truckstop and travel plaza owners and operators, their employees and their families further their education.
About the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship
For more than 20 years the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship Program has been changing lives. The scholarship provides much needed and deserved assistance to industry students planning for their post-secondary education and has awarded over $250,000 in scholarships. Each year since 1993 The NATSO Foundation has awarded scholarships to selected industry employees and their children to help offset the cost of a college education. In 2013, the NATSO Foundation Board of Directors elected to raise the amount of the scholarship from $2,500 to $5,000. The origins of the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship Program can be traced to 1989, when the Mason-Dixon Truck Stop Operators Association made a $5,000 contribution for use in establishing an industry scholarship program. In 1993, the Northeast Truckstop Operators Association made a $5000 contribution and Carolyn Moon added an additional $10,000. The NATSO Foundation began awarding scholarships to industry employees and their families in 1993.
Bill Moon made substantial contributions to NATSO, actively supporting and participating in industry-related government affairs issues, serving as Chairman of NATSO in 1989, and becoming the first Chairman of The NATSO Foundation in 1990. Carolyn Moon served as a co-founder of NATSO, provided leadership for the NATSO government affairs committee and supported the NATSO Foundation.
Education was always a Moon family priority. Bill and his wife, Carolyn, both graduated from Southwest Missouri State University, and all three of their children received degrees from The University of Iowa.
Bill Moon lost his battle with cancer in 1992. His wife Carolyn passed away in May 2017; but Bill and Carolyn Moon left a legacy that is carried on today by the Moon children. Fittingly, the scholarship program was named in Bill’s memory. In 2017, the scholarship was renamed to the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship.
Each spring the NATSO Foundation releases the scholarship application and applicants are judged by a independent review. Selections are based on a short essay exploring applicant's connection to the industry, recommendations, academic merit, extracurricular activities and community involvement.
The NATSO Foundation represents the commitment and caring that is the backbone of the travel plaza industry. You can make a secure on-line donation to the NATSO Foundation today. You can make a secure on-line donation to the Bill and Carolyn Moon Scholarship Program here.