COMMENTARY: HOF scholarships helping needy students

Published 4:00 am Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Last week it was revealed the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame will increase its monetary scholarship amount this year to a total of $16,000.

That money will be split between four local high school students. They will be chosen by a selection committee who will pore over submissions and recommendations.

A few years ago, the Limestone County Sports of Fame gave two scholarships of $1,500 each. They have more than quintupled that amount in just a few short years thanks to some generous people and hard work.

Since its inception, the hall of fame has awarded approximately $75,000 in scholarships to student athletes in Athens and Limestone County, Hall of Fame president Jeff Hodges said.

The majority of that money comes from the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame Martha Jo Leonard Memorial Golf Tournament at Canebrake Club in Athens.

The tournament, which has grown larger each year with more participants and more sponsors, is named after the late Martha Jo Leonard, who devoted much of her time to helping students get scholarships, whether they be through the hall of fame or other avenues.

It is appropriate that the tournament, which generates thousands of dollars for local students, is named after such an individual.

The Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame is an organization that has benefitted Athens and Limestone County greatly since its inception.

The hall of fame, first and foremost, was created to honor the great athletes of the past. Athens and Limestone County are full of great athletes who still live in the memories of those who watched them play, whether they went on to have great college or pro careers or remained high school legends.

In addition to honoring the past, the hall of fame now gives to the future through the golf tournament.

Hodges said the board’s goal is to recognize students who can be successful in college based on their scores on standardized tests and their grade-point average in high school but whose scores may not be high enough for scholarships from their college or university of choice. Hodges said the board also looks closely at the financial need of the scholarship applicants.

There are a lot of students who make good grades in high school and could succeed in college. But in the competitive world of college scholarships, their grades or test scores aren’t quite high enough to earn scholarships from the colleges themselves.

There are also many students in Athens and Limestone County who would do well in college, but can’t afford the high cost or have to take out student loans, which will leave them with crippling student debt later in life.

That’s why it’s wonderful to see the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame step in to reward some students with money that will help them better their lives.

The hall of fame board and all those who support it should be commended for not only recognizing the greats of the past but also helping secure the future by rewarding some worthy students with much-needed scholarship money.

— Edwards can be reached at jeff@athensnews-courier.com.