Jim Ratz Memorial Scholarship

Jim Ratz was an inspiration to many guides across the country, loved outdoor education and his family. Jim was a past Vice President of the AMGA and Executive Director of NOLS. His vision for guiding in America incorporated his love of the mountains and passion for making a living while preserving these same mountains. In his honor, this grant has been established to help support guides who are finishing their IFMGA certification.

Criteria for application

The purpose of this fund is to provide one partial-tuition scholarship for a guide wishing to advance her/his IFMGA Certification. The scholarship is to be used for any AMGA advanced course or exam. The candidate must be in the last of the three disciplines to become IFMGA certified. The successful applicant is a guide who:

• Is a current member of the AMGA
• Is currently enrolled in the Advanced Course/Exam to which the scholarship will be applied
• Is pursuing IFMGA Ceritification.
• Is seeking to better his/her guiding skills through educational courses and/or exams
• Has not received funding from the Jim Ratz Grant in the previous calendar year
• Will provide a 250-word (minimum) testimonial describing your Program experience and how the scholarship/scholarship sponsor contributed to the experience.
• At least five (5) photographs taken during the Program.
• At least one (1) video taken during the Program. We ask that you upload your video(s) to YouTube and provide us with the link.

Submit your application

Deadline for application: January 31, 2011.
If you have questions, please contact the AMGA office at 303.271.0984 or membership.director@amga.com.