In 2010 a group of Grapevine High School grads had an idea. We can establish memorial scholarships for two very positive people in our lives, Amy Jones and Atilla Penzes. We worked through the GCISD Education Foundation to manage the donations and scholarships as they already have that in-place. Here is the GoFundMe site if you want to give to this cause that awards approximately $5000 each year to one graduating High School Senior for Grapevine High School or Colleyville Heritage High School: gf.me/u/xswt8q
What is this all about? People call it different things, Giving Back, Paying Forward. It was our way to celebrate their lives and ensure there memories lived on each year as we went through applicants and had on-site interviews with GHS and CHHS young men and women. Hopefully it was an interview process like no others they experienced. Our group of friends have stayed close over the years. Randy Humphrey, Wes Warren, Rolf Brekken, Doug Zimmerer, Dusty Gotcher, Scott Williams, and Amy Jennings-Robinson have been all the key folks who have tirelessly put on fundraisers we called “Funraisers,” as they usually occured at bars with unique ways to donate built in. And always music from Wes Warren and his Merry Band of Cycling Minstrals.
We’ve gone through a few names for this endeavor, Project ’87, DFW Giving Back, and simply Amy Jones / Atilla Penzes Memorial Scholarships. Here’s our Facebook site that you can see some of the award winners over the years. By my rough count we’ve given away approximately $45K of scholarships to about 18 kids to give them a start to live a full life through education. We had a lot of fun along the way to include:
- Dressing up as Ramona Duall’s to sing the GHS High School song to the tune of the Ramones’ “I’m Sedated”
- Got folks to donate for us to wear tights and french maid and superman underwear in a mud obstacle run
- Auctioned off dates with twins and with a young studly electrician names Pup
- Silent Auctioned some awesome Dallas Stars’ memorabilia and box seats donated by GHS’s own Darcie (Schollmeyer) Hull who happens to be married to somebody named Brett Hull.
- Played just a few tunes by Johnny Cash, Violent Femmes, and even semi-rapped… It’s getting Hot In Herrre, I’m gonna Take My Clothes Off
And here’s some great pics from award winners and fun-raisers over the years.
ZandMe's 999 Good Things 