About Lari White
Lari White, who was born and raised in Dunedin, began singing gospel music at church, craft fairs and local community centers by the age of 4. She continued to amaze everyone with her talents throughout high school, where she won many talent contests and awards. After graduating Dunedin High School, Lari attended the University of Miami on a full scholarship, where she was the first female to receive a Music and Vocal Engineering Degree. She moved to Nashville where she won “You Can Be A Star,” catapulting her into the national country scene. She had several top songs on the music charts, three Grammy Awards, was a major record label recording artist, and was a producer under her own recording label, “Skinny White Girl Records.” Lari was the first female producer in Nashville, co-producing Toby Keith’s Album, “White Trash With Money.” She participated in Dancing with the Stars for Safe Haven, was an author, as well as a broadway and motion picture actress, including her unforgettable performance in “Castaway” with Tom Hanks. In 1996, Governor Lawton Chiles, declared February 9th “Lari White Day” in the state of Florida, and she received a key to the City of Dunedin in 2013. Lari’s musical expertise included not only country, but other genres such as gospel and soul. After moving to Nashville, Lari married Chuck Cannon, a fellow musician and songwriter. Lari and Chuck had three children. Lari passed away on January 23, 2018, after a four-month battle with primary peritoneal cancer.
About the Scholarship
This annual $1,000.00 scholarship is available to any Dunedin High School senior pursuing a college degree in the Performing Arts field who possesses a 3.0 GPA upon graduation.
ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED ON OR BEFORE APRIL 14, 2023. Please note that you must upload both your certified transcript, and a signed academic certification form completed by your principal or guidance counselor. DO NOT BEGIN this application without first having these forms completed. There is no way to save an application in progress. If you have any questions, please reach out at 727-531-0058, or email info@pinellascf.org
