(MARSHALL, Texas) – Four Electrical Lineworker and Management students from Texas State Technical College’s Marshall campus formed a team to participate in the Fat Boy Foundation’s third annual Jonathan Holland Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament on Saturday, April 18 at the Henderson Country Club.
The Fat Boy Foundation is dedicated to raising money for technical college scholarships in memory of Jonathan Holland, a former TSTC Electrical Lineworker and Management student who passed away.
Karen Holland, Jonathan’s mother who founded the foundation alongside her husband, said the golf tournament is one of the ways they raise money for the cause.
“We had a friend say, ‘I want to do a golf tournament for you to raise money for the foundation. Are you ok with that?’ and that’s what we did,” she said. “I really can’t explain how much it means to me that TSTC is a part of this.”
Michelle Atkinson, the senior manager of admissions and enrollment for TSTC’s Marshall campus, said TSTC was originally asked to sponsor the event, but she decided to go one step further.
“The Fat Boy Foundation, they scholarship the lineman program in particular, so I thought it would be appropriate to find out if we had any lineman students who would be interested in participating,” she said. “We had many volunteers who wanted to support the cause.”
One of those volunteers was TSTC student Braylon Rayes, who agreed the tournament was for a good cause.
“Some people aren’t always gifted with that much money in life, and I feel like it gives them the chance to do whatever they want to do with it,” Rayes said about the foundation.
Riley Roys, another student who participated, said he enjoys golfing with the friends he has made through TSTC. He said could not help but imagine his own mother in Karen Holland’s shoes and it made him want to support the cause.
“Seeing that there was a grieving mother whose son went through the program, I think it’s in my best interest to come out and help support her,” Roys said.
Registration for the summer and fall semesters is underway at TSTC. For more information about TSTC, go to tstc.edu.