The Douglas Dean Peeples Memorial Scholarship at Lander University has been fully endowed, thanks to proceeds from a recent bass fishing tournament held at Lake Russell and the contributions of private donors.
The scholarship was established last year by Dean's parents, R. Douglas "Skeeter" and Jamie Davis Peeples, after their son died June 19, 2020, in a drowning accident at Lake Greenwood. The Peeples, both employed at Lander, want to continue Dean's legacy of helping others and honor two of his great passions - fishing and wrestling, team sports that he had enjoyed as a high school student.
Scholarships will be awarded annually to members of the University's fishing and wrestling teams, with the first scholarships scheduled to be announced in the Fall of 2021.
"The first annual Douglas Dean Peeples Memorial Scholarship Open Bass Tournament raised the visibility of the scholarship fund and established this tournament as a quality event that bass fishermen can enjoy in the future," said Peeples.
Plans are under way for the second annual tournament to be held in the Spring of 2022.
"We are grateful to the many people who supported us in our efforts for this tournament and who have contributed generously to the scholarship," he said. "We want to continue to grow the scholarship fund so that it will be able to impact the lives of its recipients for many years to come."
Award winners included First Place, Darren Taylor and Tony Mincy; Second Place, Wendell Ashley and Larry Davis; Third Place, Harley Ross and Cole Hyder; Big Fish, Brian Epps and Joey Smith; Smallest Five Fish, Richard Phillips and James Phillips. The No Weight Draw was won by Michael Pelfrey.
Visit https://78882.thankyou4caring.org/give/select-your-fund to contribute directly to the Douglas Dean Peeples Scholarship.