Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
It’s only been five years since the Pocahontas County High School Class of 2014 received degrees and went out into the world, but in that short amount of time, the class tragically lost two of its members – Joshua Clark and Lyndsee Gay Lambert.
To honor the memory of both classmates, Alex Kennison decided the class should pull together to create a memorial scholarship for future PCHS graduates.
“I came up with the idea – in memory of Josh and Lyndsee – to kind of keep their name and legacy going,” Kennison said. “We got a couple of classmates together to form a committee to go over the applicants and to raise money.”
The group spoke with the families and close friends of Clark and Lambert to explain the reason for the scholarship and to get their blessings before putting things in motion. Lambert’s mom, Selina Gay, and Clark’s mom, Kim Clark, were both very happy with the classmates’ decision.
“Selina – she thinks it’s awesome,” Kennison said. “Same with Josh’s mom. We’ve gotten a lot of support from the community for the idea in general.”
To apply for the scholarship, students must have a 3.0 GPA and plan to attend a two-year or four-year accredited school in West Virginia.
For the first year of the scholarship, the committee plans to award one, but hopes to have two awards each year thereafter.
“This year, we’re just starting out with one, and next year, the hope is to have a Clark and Lambert scholarship so we can have a male and female recipient.”
The class has pulled together funds and created a trust account which will be supported through fund-raisers.
The first fundraiser will be a concert Saturday, May 18, at 6 p.m. at the Marlinton Municipal Building. The evening will begin with an acoustic set before things ramp up with rock sets from Cold Ethyl and Phoenix Rising.
The event will also include a silent auction and concessions.
While it’s hard to believe the class lost two members in such a short time span, Kennison said they want to make sure that Clark and Lambert are never too far from anyone’s thoughts.
“A lot of people don’t realize how quickly things can change,” he said. “This happened in a two-year period where we lost Josh and Lyndsee. It’s very eye opening. It’s tragic, and we want to remember them.”
