Three individuals were recently awarded Morley’s Field Scholarships.
During the 1990s, a dream became a reality with the building and completion of the Charles Buckenmeyer Stadium through the hard work of many and the generous donations of a multitude of people. During this period of time, the Kim and Carol Morley Beck family approached the stadium committee with a donation in return for the naming rights to the stadium field in memory of their son, Morley, who died in a car accident and who loved the sport of football.
The field became Morley’s Field, and the Morley’s Field Foundation was established. This foundation provided items such as sideline turf, play clocks and other items to maintain the field throughout the years.
In 2016, Napoleon Area City Schools took another step in enhancing the Charles Buckenmeyer Stadium with the purchase of artificial turf for Morley’s Field. With this purchase, Morley’s Field Foundation had no role in maintaining the field as the turf would require nothing that hadn’t already been acquired through the foundation. A decision had to be made in regards to what to do with the money that had been acquired over the years for Morley’s Field Foundation. After much thought and discussion with Carol Beck, it was decided to utilize the money through scholarships for those students that utilized the field and applied such as boy/girl band member, football player, cheerleader and football manager or trainer.
Scholarships were first awarded in 2018-19, but only three applications were received in 2019-2020, all of them girls. Each of the three received a $1,000 scholarship — Olivia Weaver, who will attend The Ohio State University studying biology; Samantha Wulff, attending Mount Vernon Nazarene University studying premed and biology; and Audrey Wade, attending Bowling Green State University studying education and human development.
(Information and photos courtesy of Tootie Bockelman.)
