Having financed the startup of intercollegiate baseball at North Central Texas College, as well as the construction of an indoor practice facility for both baseball and softball, and playing a key role in attracting the funds for building the stadiums in which those two sports are played, the NCTC Athletic Boosters Club has turned its attention to building scholarships for student athletes.

Club representatives this year presented a check for $25,000 to the NCTC Foundation to endow a new fund which will support scholarships and provide other financial help, as needed, to intercollegiate sports programs at the college.

"That means all sports, not just baseball," said Jerry Meece Boosters Club president, "even though our club had its beginnings several years ago primarily as a result of the desire a group of us had to see baseball become a sport at NCTC."
    
With that and several related goals very successfully achieved, Meece added, the club has turned its attention more and more in recent years to helping and promoting the college's other sports for both men and women. He said the club also would be lending its full support to any new sports, such as soccer, which may be added in the future.

"It would be difficult to express just how grateful we are to this organization for all it has done for this college," said Dr. Ronnie Glasscock, former NCTC president. "What the Boosters have done for our athletic programs is obvious, but not so obvious is the tremendous amount of goodwill they've created toward the college and how much they've done to enhance NCTC's public image throughout the region."

Dr. Glassock said he is particularly grateful to the Boosters Club for its new emphasis on building an endowed scholarship fund that will generate interest proceeds to assist student athletes for years to come.

"Of course, none of what we've accomplished would have been possible without our extremely successful Danny Darwin Celebrity Open Golf Tournament," Meece said. "Since 1990, it has generated more than $250,000 which has been used in support of NCTC athletics, and I can say with assurance that this $25,000 is just the beginning of an endowment that will continue to grow significantly as long as our tournament remains viable.

"If last year is any indication, even though Danny Darwin had retired from major league play, we believe it will continue to be viable for quite some time.

"The tournament is so well run, and Danny is held in such high regard by former teammates and others in professional sports that our celebrity roster remains one of the very best of any tournament of this kind in the Metroplex."

The Booster Club's expanded focus on all sports has also created a need to expand the club's membership base, Meece said, reporting that anyone who is interested is welcome to join.

"We can always use additional help with the tournament," Meece said, "but what we need even more than that are fresh new ideas for activities and fund-raising events, new thinking about how our club is organized and operates and new visions of how our club can be of benefit to the college.

"When we invite someone to join, we'll be asking not for their money but for something even harder to come by among the kind of enthusiastic, dedicated members we're seeking—their time and active participation."

Persons interested in becoming a member of the NCTC Athletic Boosters Club should contact Meece at 665-8401 or Kevin Darwin, NCTC athletic director, at 668-7731, Ext. 352.