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| SCHOLARSHIPS |
.jpg) On October 31, 2014 a scholarship fund was set up with the Arkansas Tech University Foundation in memory of Gary Homes Hodges (1949-2012). Gary Hodges was an avid member of the Takahik River Valley Hikers Club who rarely missed a weekly hike. He was a native of Yell County and graduated from Arkansas Tech University in 1974 with a degree in Accounting. He worked as Controller at Tech for 19 years before retiring in 2011. Prior to coming to Arkansas Tech, he worked for many years as an auditor with the Division of Legislative Audit. He was also a member of the Yell County Wildlife Federation. Following his passing, the Takahik Club learned that he had designated in his will a donation to the Takahik Club. The membership felt that Gary would be very pleased that the donation be contributed to a scholarship in his name and designated to be awarded to an Arkansas Tech University student majoring in Recreation and Park Administration. Therefore, the TAKAHIK Gary Hodges Memorial Scholarship was established. More Pics The Scholarship Itself
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Our First Recipient
a.JPG) (Macy Lynn Wiley, Danny Hale and Dr. Mary Ann Rollans) Meet Macy Lynn Wiley our first recipient of the TAKAHIK Gary Hodges Memorial Scholarship  The first recipient for this semester, Macy Lynn Wiley, was honored at the Takahik Club’s picnic which closed out this year’s hiking season. She was introduced at the picnic by Danny Hale, President of the Club, who provided remarks about Gary Hodges and presented a memorial video. Mary Ann Rollans, Membership Chair, provided a short background on the scholarship requirements and asked Macy to tell the Club about herself. She thanked the Club for the scholarship and stated that she was also indebted to Gary Hodges for his contribution. Also a guest of the club was her father, David Wiley. Macy graduated from Lakeside High School in May of 2011 and came to Arkansas Tech on a softball scholarship, but later changed her major from Coaching & Teaching to Recreation and Parks Administration with an emphasis in Recreation Administration. She completed her degree and participated in spring 2015 commencement with a 3.5 GPA. She just recently completed an internship with the City of Hot Springs Sports Recreation Department. She outlined for the club some of her plans and vision for her future following graduation. She will be leaving next month for Durango, Colorado to begin a work program with the Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC). SCC provides young women and men with structured, safe and challenging service and educational opportunities through projects that promote personal growth, the development of social skills, and an ethic of natural resource stewardship. She will be spending the next five months in very remote locations within the Colorado wilderness. On a typical project, Corps members hike, backpack, work, learn, and camp in teams with up to six people and two crew leaders. Projects include trail building, fuels reduction, riparian restoration, erosion control, tree planting, fencing, and exotic plant removal. In addition to the Colorado opportunity, she has another opportunity with Oklahoma State Parks for a position as Park Operations and Management Trainee. It is very obvious that Macy is the perfect embodiment of the focus of this scholarship. In her free time, she dedicates herself to the outdoors. She loves to hike, camp, paddle down the rivers and creeks, and visit state parks. In the future, she plans to explore the natural wonders of the world and travel every chance she gets. She plans on being very successful somewhere in correlation to a Recreation and Parks career, and made the following statement in her closing remarks: “My journey is just now beginning but would have never been possible without Arkansas Tech University, its professors, and scholarship providers, like Takahik Club. I am beyond honored to be the first recipient of the Gary Hodges Memorial Scholarship, and appreciate every opportunity to become affiliated with recreation and park based organizations.”
Click on the following link for the Arkansas Tech University News and Information Page http://www.arkansastechnews.com/community/wiley-recognized-as-scholarship-recipient/ |
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Our Second Recipient
.JPG) (Michaela Wagoner, Dr. Mary Ann Rollans and Danny Hale) |
| Meet
Michaela Wagoner our second recipient of the TAKAHIK Gary
Hodges Memorial Scholarship |
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| The second
recipient, Michaela Wagoner, was honored at the Takahik Club's picnic on
May 5, 2016. She was introduced by Dr. Mary Ann Rollans. Michaela is from Yellville, Arkansas and will be a senior next year and is majoring in Recreation and Parks at Arkansas Tech University with an emphasis in natural resource management. .JPG) (Michaela speaking to TAKAHIK at picnic) http://www.arkansastechnews.com/community/wagoner-named-hodges-scholarship-winner/ |
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Our Third Recipient
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Madison is a Junior at Arkansas Tech Univeristy and is majoing in Recreation and Parks. Her plans, after graduation, is to work in the Harrison, Arkansas area.
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The Courier 7/2/17
The TAKAHIK River Valley Hikers Club completed its 19th
hiking year with an annual picnic at the Lake Dardanelle State Park
Visitors Center. A feature
of the picnic is the presentation of the TAKAHIK Gary Hodges Memorial
Scholarship. The
scholarship was established in memory of Gary Hodges, an avid member of
the TAKAHIK River Valley Hikers Club who rarely missed a weekly hike.
He was a native of Yell County and graduated from Arkansas Tech
University in 1974 with a degree in Accounting.
He worked as a Controller at Tech for 19 years before retiring in
2011. Prior to coming to
Arkansas Tech, he worked for many years as an auditor with the Division
of Legislative Audit. He was also a member of the Yell County Wildlife
Federation. Following his
passing, the TAKAHIK Club learned that he had designated in his will a
donation to the TAKAHIK Club.
The membership felt that Gary would be very pleased that the
donation be contributed to a scholarship in his name and designated to
be awarded to an Arkansas Tech University student majoring Recreation
and Park Administration.
This is the third year that the scholarship has been awarded, and the recipient of the 2017 scholarship is Madison West, a Junior from Valley Springs majoring in Recreation and Park Administration. She is currently employed by Top of the Rock in Ridgedale, MO. Madison was introduced by Lila McCauley, a club member, and the scholarship was presented by Danny Hale, club president. Madison thanked the club for the scholarship and presented a brief overview of her academic program and career plans after graduation. Her career plans include the possibility of serving as a director of a program with the Harrison Parks and Recreation Department or working with the National Park Service along the Buffalo River to establish programs for public participation. Her career goals and current academic major fit very well with her interest in the outdoors including hiking, fishing, boating, sight-seeing, biking, swimming, etc. The picnic concluded with TAKAHIK members visiting with Madison and her family who accompanied her.
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(Melissa West, Madison West, Michael Evert and Nelson West)
Our Fourth Recipient
(Carrie Saunders)
Meet Carrie Saunders our fourth recipient of the TAKAHIK Gary Hodges Memorial Scholarship
Carrie went to Waldron High School in Waldron Arkansas. She is studing Recreation and Park Administration at Arkansas Tech.
Our Fifth Recipient
(Jacob Deen)
Meet Jacob Deen our fifth recipient of the TAKAHIK Gary Hodges Memorial Scholarship
Jacob is a Senior majoring in Recreation and Park Administration at Arkansas Tech, and is from Denison, Texas, and will graduate in May, 2020.
Our Sixth Receipient
(Andre White, Jr.)
Meet Andre White, Jr. our sixth recipient of the TAKAHIK Gary Hodges Memorial Scholarship
Andre is a Parks and Recreation major and is from Bryant, Arkansas. He was just recently name the ATU Student-Athlete of the Month.
