Corky Boyd Memorial Scholarship

Established in 2007 in memory of Corky Boyd by family and friends.

Mr. Michael Hull, a 1999 graduate from the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at Texas Tech, coordinated the establishment of this scholarship. The funds for the scholarship arise as proceeds from an annual golf tournament and bird hunt during the Labor Day weekend. There have also been matching contributions from Merrill Lynch, the firm which Mr. Hull works for. The golf tournament is held in Jayton, Texas and the hunt is on a ranch between Snyder and Rotan. In recent years the scholarship recipient has been invited to these functions on the Labor Day weekend.

Ira Corwin "Corky" Boyd was born on January 20, 1958 in Corsicana Texas. His family moved to Ennis, Texas shortly after he began elementary school where he continued his primary education until his high school graduation in 1976. At Ennis High School, Corky participated in 4 years of football, baseball, and track where he received several awards. His senior year, Corky enjoyed being one of the starting tailbacks on Ennis' first state championship football team. Upon high school graduation, he attended Tyler Junior College. After college, Corky joined American National Insurance Company, as an agent, and later became a partner at F.D.& S Insurance Agency, where he remained until his death in 2001.

Corky married his high school sweetheart, Karen Ann Williamson and they had one daughter, Ashley Elizabeth. In 1982, they made Tyler, Texas their permanent home, where both Karen and Ashley still live today. Corky was always an enthusiastic outdoorsman enjoying all types of hunting and fishing. As an adult, he added golf as another favorite hobby. He first became acquainted with Rotan, Texas through bird hunting in the early 1980's. Corky quickly established an annual tradition of arriving in Rotan on September 1, for opening day of dove season. After a few years, golf was added as another required weekend activity.

After Cork's passing in 2001, "The Corky Boyd Memorial Shoot and Slice" was established as an annual gathering in Rotan on opening weekend. The event is a reunion of his many friends and family for a weekend of hunting, golfing and remembering Corky.

The scholarship is awarded annually to students of any classification majoring in Range or Wildlife Management in the Department of Natural Resources Management. Preference is given to students from Fisher and Smith counties in Texas. There are provisions to eventually convert this annual scholarship into an endowment which would provide scholarships in perpetuity. The number and amount awarded each year varies.

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