Dern 08 Story

Ryan Blackmon of Gloversville, Brendan Devine of Bethel, N.Y., and Evelyn Marrero of Amsterdam have been named winners of the Fulmont Roadrunners Club’s 2008 James R. Dern Memorial Scholarships. The athletes received their $500 awards in ceremonies following the club’s annual Mule Haul road race.

Ryan Blackmon, the son of Thomas and Paulette Blackmon, is a graduate of Gloversville High School, where he was a four-year member of the varsity cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams, serving as team captain for six seasons. He will be attending the University of Vermont, where he will run competitively while majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry and sociology. He hopes to eventually attend medical school and become an emergency room physician.

At Gloversville High, Ryan distinguished himself not just as a runner but also academically, taking enough advanced-placement courses to start college as a sophomore in credit standings. He also distinguished himself in scouting, earning its highest honor, the Eagle Scout Award. For his many hours of community service as part of scouting and as a student mentor in school, he earned Gloversville’s Gold Award for Community Service. Ryan worked during the summers as a life guard for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and was promoted to head life guard in 2007.

Brendan Devine, the son of Frank and Debra Devine, is a graduate of Monticello High School in Monticello, N.Y., where he competed for four years as a member of the varsity cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams, and was captain of all of those teams from his sophomore through senior years. He will be studying history education at the University of Southern Indiana and continue his competitive running there. He plans to become a history teacher and high school running coach.

Along with his outstanding success as a high school runner, Brendan was a strong student, earning a 3.8 grade point average and qualifying for the scholastic high honor roll in every quarter. He was a member of the Monticello High School chapter of the National Honor Society, serving as president in his senior year, and was a four-year member of the school’s Athletic Association, becoming president for the 2007-08 term. Throughout his high school years, he was a religious education teacher at St. Peter’s Church in Monticello, and he worked summers as a busboy at a local restaurant.

Evelyn Marrero, the daughter of Richard and Myra Marrero, graduated from Amsterdam High School, where she was a four-year member of the varsity cross country and track teams and captain of those teams in her senior year. She will be attending Bentley College, where she will major in accounting and run cross country. She aspires to a career in business, and hopes to one day open a business of her own, perhaps an athletic shop/gym.

In addition to being Amsterdam High’s top distance runner, Evelyn was a strong student, taking a particular interest in the school’s business courses and earning membership in the National Honor Society. She was involved in several school organizations, including the Youth Common Council and LAWS (Latino Awareness Within Society). In addition, she was a founding member of Amsterdam High’s chapter of Operation Smile, an organization involved in raising money for surgery to correct facial deformities in children. She is a certified lifeguard and worked summers at the the City of Amsterdam pool.

Ryan, Brendan, and Evelyn bring to 29 the number of recipients of the scholarship that bears the name of the late Jim Dern, a Canajoharie resident, Beech-Nut executive, and longtime running enthusiast and Fulmont Roadrunners Club member. The scholarships are awarded to college-committed seniors from Fulton and Montgomery County high schools along with club members from other high schools, who have competed in varsity running programs for at least two years. Applicants are judged on work ethic, leadership skills, sportsmanship, commitment to running team goals, and respect of peers.

With this year’s awards, more than $13,000 in scholarships have been granted to young men and women from nine high schools. The awards program began in 1995.