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By Barry Grizzard

EMPORIA

Over the last 20-plus years the Greensville/Southampton Hokie Club and Alumni Chapter has supported freshmen entering Virginia Tech with total scholarships exceeding $40,000. These donations have been funded by hole/meal sponsors and teams entering the annual golf tournament as this is the one scholarship fund raiser annually.

This year we have 10 scholarship winners from the Emporia/Greensville, Roanoke Rapids and Southampton County area:

• Brooke Iman Battle, Jami Leigh Walters and Tanner Allen Watson, all of Greensville County High School;

• Sadler Hastings Lundy and Tyler Gage Rae, both of Brunswick Academy

• Charles Preston McElheney IV of Roanoke Rapids High School

• Ethan Ray Drake and John Dalton Harrison, both of Southampton Academy; and

• Ashton Wade Hatfield and Mariah Monet Leonard, both of Southampton High School.

The tournament is named for Moses Clements, our beloved Hokie who passed away way too early. The Scholarship Program and the Scholarship Tournament both bear his name — the Moses Clements Scholarship Program and the 2020 Moses Clements VT Scholarship Golf Tournament, in remembrance of his dedicated service to the club and especially the Scholarship Program. It was his annual joy to review and present the scholarships at the summer dinner.

This year the tournament will be on Friday, Aug. 28, in the Emporia Country Club, at noon. The event will start with a box lunch and open driving range. There will be a shotgun start at 1 p.m. The cost to play is $60 per player, which includes golf, golf cart, green fees, goody bag, beverages, two mulligans, box lunch and hors d’oeuvres after the event at the awards ceremony.

All efforts will be in place to abide by all state COVID-19 recommendations while setting up and running the tournament. Every worker and player will be screened at check-in.

The venue is at 578 Country Club Road, Emporia.

Hole sponsorships are $100 and should be reserved in the next 10 days as the new signs will need to be produced and placed on the holes.

To enter the tournament or to be a hole or meal sponsor, contact Barry Grizzard at barry.grizzard@littleoilco.com or 804-929-3146 or any Emporia Hokie Club Board Member – Kevin Swenson, Wilson Clary, Meade Horne, Mike Roach, Jeff Robinson, Hall Squire, Roly Weaver, Katie Richardson, Jeffrey Pope or president Matthew Lynch.