BERLIN — Two Stephen Decatur seniors last Wednesday were the recipients of $3,000 in scholarships from the Ocean City Surf Club.
Last year, the Ocean City Surf Club was reformed after 50 years with close attention to a nostalgic past and a careful eye on a promising future. Local surfing legends reunited to bring back the surf club, which was first formed back in 1963 when the popular west coast sport was just reaching Ocean City and the east coast. Over 50 years later, the Ocean City Surf Club was reborn with the goal of furthering the sport for new generations of young surfers in the resort area while advocating for conservation, clean water and clean beaches under the ubiquitous “Leave Only Footprints Behind” campaign fostered by the Surfrider Foundation.
From the onset, the new Ocean City Surf Club dedicated itself to charitable fundraising and a scholarship program for local high school students involved in its conservation efforts.
The first of what should be many scholarships were awarded to a pair of Stephen Decatur High School seniors on Wednesday. Decatur senior Matt Krall was awarded a $1,000 Bill Wise Memorial Scholarship dedicated in honor of one of the pioneers of surfing on Delmarva. Krall also received the $1,000 “Leave Only Your Footprints” environmental scholarship.
In addition, Decatur senior Molly Wooten received the surf club’s $1,000 Harmon Family Scholarship. The Harmon Family Scholarship is centered around water-related activities in general.
The scholarships awarded to Krall and Wooten are just the beginning of what is expected to be an expanded campaign in the future. The Ocean City Surf Club will provide up to 10, one-time scholarships to high school seniors in the area next year for their work in advancing the club’s initiatives and is trying to get the word out so more kids become involved and apply for the money. All of the information and the applications are available on the Worcester County high school systems and will be available on the Ocean City Surf Club’s webpage before the start of the next school year for any local private school seniors. Candidates can apply on on-line or at their school’s guidance offices.
“We want to give this money away,” said OCSC Scholarship Committee Chair Effie Cox. “You don’t have to be a surfer to receive the scholarships, just be involved in environmental service for the Leave Only Your Footprints scholarship. We would love to have everyone at one of our beach cleanups or any of our environmental activities, but it is not required to be involved with our group, just be involved in taking care of our beaches.”