2006 Scholarship Recipient Coleman Awarded Memorial Scholarship
Pictured from left to right: Johnny Viers, 2006 Scholarship Recipient Tarah Coleman, Bonnie Sue Deel Ratliff, Sue Counts.
Recent Haysi High School graduate Tarah Coleman is the fifth recipient of the Haysi High School Class of '61 Memorial Scholarship. The $350 award certificate was presented to Ms. Coleman at the 2006 Haysi High School Awards Program by Johnny Viers, a member of the Haysi High School Class of 1961. Coleman, the daughter of Roger and Janet Coleman of Birchleaf, plans to attend Virginia Tech this fall and major in chemistry.
The scholarship was established to honor members of Haysi High School's class of 1961 who have died. The class met for its 40th reunion at Breaks Interstate Park in September 2001. Class members held a remembrance ceremony for classmates who had died. The ceremony included the lighting of a candle and reading for each classmate. Classmates who had died by 2001 included: Harry Arrington, Ellis Branham, Glen Colley, Jackie B. Colley, Bobby Counts, Johnny P. Edwards, Norris Edwards, Lowell T. Jones, William Mondrage, Kennith O'Quinn, Ola O'Quinn, Alex Owens, Lois Puckett Ludowici, Tommy Rasnake, Larry Stanley, Charlie Turner, and Patricia Turner Yates. These classmates died as a result of heart attacks, cancer and automobile accidents, and accounted for 22 percent of the class. In November 2003, the class lost another member of its class, Johnny C. Hall, to cancer.
Those who attended the reunion in 2001 wanted to find a way to remember their classmates who are no longer living. After much discussion, the class decided to establish a memorial scholarship fund. An endowment was created so a scholarship could be awarded to a Haysi High School graduating senior attending college. The name of the endowment is the Haysi High School Memorial Scholarship Fund which is under the Watauga County Community Foundation and the NC Community Foundation. A scholarship selection committee uses a predetermined set of criteria to select the recipient. Contributions to this scholarship endowment are tax deductible. Letters are sent to donors for tax purposes. In addition, if the donation is given in memory of someone, a letter will also be sent to that person's family to let them know of the gift. Such gifts can be given in lieu of flowers.
Donations are welcome and checks should be made out to "Haysi High School Class of '61 Memorial Scholarship Endowment" and mailed to Sue Counts, PO Box 2642, Boone, NC 28607.
The Haysi High School Class of 1961 will hold its 45th Class Reunion on July 21st and 22nd at The Breaks Interstate Park. Call Sue Counts (828-963-5376) or Zay and Johnny Viers (276-963-0260) for more information.