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Tragedy Turns to Triumph
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Howard and Mary Kay Hartzell present a $25,000 check to Youngstown State University President Cynthia Anderson, left, during a luncheon on campus. The Hartzells have raised $250,000 for scholarships in honor of their son, Youngstown Police Officer Michael Hartzell, who was killed in the line of duty in 2003. The presentation was Monday.
14 students receive scholarships in memory of fallen police officer
By christine keeling
Youngstown
Youngstown State University’s president says the glorious thing about the Valley is that people turn tragedy into something beautiful.
Fourteen recipients of the scholarship in memory of Youngstown police officer Michael T. Hartzell were honored Monday during a luncheon in the Presidential Suite of Kilcawley Center on the YSU campus.
The scholarship was founded, by Hartzell’s parents, Howard and Mary Kay, after he was killed April 23, 2003, as he sat in his cruiser in downtown Youngstown.
“This doesn’t happen in every community,” said Cynthia Anderson, president of YSU. “It will help students for many years.”
The Hartzells said they had no goal in mind when they started an annual charity golf outing to raise funds, but the fund just reached $250,000.
“It’s my husband’s outlet,” said Mary Kay. “He loves the golf outing because it’s what keeps him going.”
During the luncheon, the Hartzells presented Anderson with a check for $25,000 from this year’s fundraising.
The next outing is scheduled for July 29 at Knoll Run Golf Course in Lowellville, and Howard hopes to make changes to raise even more money.
The scholarship is open to children of police officers and Austintown Fitch High School graduates who will major in criminal justice while attending YSU.
This year’s recipients each received $1,000.
“It helped me attend school,” said YSU student Derek McLaughlin. “And made me realize the importance of police officers.”
The fund has distributed 55 scholarships worth more than $60,000 to students in the tri-county area.