Softball tourney helps fund scholarships

BONNERS FERRY — The hot sun beat down on the baseball fields off District 2 Road by the Kootenai River, on July 28, as teams lined up to play ball for a good cause: the second annual Bat for Our Brothers co-ed softball tournament.

Christopher Jacob (CJ) Erickson and his friend Robert (Robbie) L. Gust were tragically killed in an automobile accident on June 26, 2016. Both of the young Bonners Ferry men have not been forgotten, and their memory lives on through the second annual Rob Gust-CJ Erickson Skool Scholarship.

Graduating high schoolers who meet the criteria of being accepted and enrolled in an accredited vocational school as a full time student, and participate in school-sponsored sports for at least their junior and senior years, are eligible to receive one of two monetary scholarship awards.

One of the ways scholarship funds are raised is through a softball tournament. This year, five teams paid their fees to play in the tournament that not only brought the families together, but also brought community members to the field to support the local youth and bring back memories of the boys who have been missed.

The participating teams were the 10-4’s, the B-Town Heroes, the Alcoballics, the Warriors, and the Willow Bay Bullfrogs.

“We are just here to have fun and raise scholarships for CJ and Robbie. They were two really great local kids. It’s a fun event to raise money for these scholarships,” said Tom Turpin.

Colton and Michaela Telford coordinated the event with the assistance of the Turpin family, in order to raise money for the upcoming senior scholarship awards. They also assisted in providing T-shirts, sweatshirts, water, Gatorade, licorice, cheeseburger meals, and Otter Pops to assist in the fundraising event.

“From here, the money goes to the school district and they administer it,” said Colton Telford. “In the spring, during the scholarship awards ceremony, we collect the applications and I strip all of the names off of them and then pass it to CJ and Robbie’s family members, and we tally the votes.”

Along with meeting the initial criteria, each applicant is asked to submit an essay under a theme each year; for example, this past years essay was themed around what it was like growing up in a small community. The top two nameless applicants with the most votes from the family receive a scholarship to further their education.

This year’s tournament winners were the only traveling team to attend, the B-Town Heroes, who won the title from last years winners, the 10-4’s. The fundraiser has so far produced about $2,300 for this year’s youth, with additional donations coming in.

“The tournament was a great success due to the five teams who participated and the numerous community members who were there showing their support,” said Michaela Telford.

In this tight knit community, those who reside locally know how it is not a community of strangers, but a community of family, and as such, are ready and willing to reach out and support one another in many ways.