The Dennis J. Murray Scholarship Fund
Donation protected
Dear Family, Friends, and Neighbors,
It is our pleasure to invite you to join us in honoring our father Dennis Murray as we institute The Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund. On October 10, 2009, our Dad, following a courageous battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, passed away but his fight and spirit remains with us. Approximately 5,600 people in the United States are diagnosed with ALS each year. The incidence of ALS is two out of every 100,000 people, and it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans may be diagnosed with this disease at any time. ALS is a terminal disease for which there is no cure and as a result this disease carries a short-term life expectancy. After his initial diagnosis, Dad fought this horrible disease for nearly 4 years, making sure he didn't miss the moments he held dearest to his heart, like our graduations and the birth of his grandchildren. It is because of our Dad's desire this fight remains instilled in our hearts today. Our family is joining forces with Drew, Nick, and Matt Beaudry to carry on our father's vision for education by raising funds for an annual scholarship bearing his name at Marysville High School. In addition to this scholarship, a portion of the proceeds raised will be donated to ALS of Michigan to aid those individuals currently enduring the same fight against this horrible disease. To support our fundraising efforts, my twin brother Brian and I, together with the Beaudry Brothers will be running a 26.2 mile marathon in Charlevoix, Michigan on June 21, 2014. It is our hope that embarking on this difficult journey will preserve the legacy of our Dad's efforts in the educational system and community and help those fighting this horrible disease.
Our Father, His Vision, His Life
Dennis John Murray was born on June 3, 1950 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan and moved to Marysville in 1981. It is in this wonderful community that he raised his family and would remain an active member of the Marysville community and schools for the rest of his life. Dad was a lifelong community activist. Dennis served as the School Board President from 1995-1999, which was a position he dearly loved. He spearheaded the "Room to Grow" millage campaign, which brought long-overdue renovations to all of Marysville's schools in the mid-1990's. Above all, he believed that education was the key that unlocked a person's God-given potential. His passion for improving Marysville's educational system and expanding opportunities for students were at the foremost of his activism.
"Dennis Murray had an integral part in bringing me to Marysville and I am forever grateful to him for that. He was an outstanding man, husband, father, and leader of our district. I will never forget when I was hired in, he would always tell me, "if you need something, we will get it". He followed his words through with effort and action and made Marysville schools a better place. It was a pleasure to work for him and a pleasure to coach his two sons!"
-Tom Valko, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director, Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach '98-'08
The Scholarship
While our Dad is no longer with us today, we are continuing his mission of expanding student opportunity through the Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund,an annual scholarship designated for a graduating senior. He believed that the foundation of a great public education centered on the Big 3: Academics, Athletics, and the Arts. Recipients must demonstrate the highest level of commitment to academic achievement while enriching their education by participating in athletic and arts programs as well. Minimum years of participation, educational references, and other various standardized criteria will be utilized in the selection process of applicants. It is our mission through this scholarship to reward those who exemplify the same educational values and pursuit of higher education. This scholarship will help develop the next generation of leaders through a commitment to higher education while honoring the life and principles of our father Dennis Murray. The logo located at the top of the first page was the very same logo that he used to signify his mission for education at Marysville Public Schools while serving as School Board President.
The Charlevoix Marathon
When selecting an event to be the inception point for our fundraising efforts, we wanted a challenge both mentally and physically that would require the same courage, strength, and will to complete that would be worthy of our Dad's fight. Our fundraising objectives will be supported with each stride of the 26.2 miles on the shoreline of Lake Michigan in addition to hundreds of training miles beforehand. Our training started on March 1st as we devoted our daily lives and schedules for the next four months to meet the physical and mental demands of this mission. Hour training sessions on treadmills, 4:00 a.m. runs and swimming workouts, and braving below freezing temperatures for 10-20 mile runs outside quickly confirmed the statistic of why only less than 1% of the world population have completed a marathon. As we embark on the final grueling stretch of our training, we need your support. Please follow our journey via our Facebook Page at The Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund and on Twitter at @MurrayFund. Your messages of encouragement would be greatly appreciated to help with our training.
"Dennis's life was a marathon of working to improve everyone else's life, it is only fitting that a marathon is being run in his honor." - Dave Beaudry
We Need Your Help!!!
We need YOUR HELP to complete this mission!!! Our goals are set high to ensure that this scholarship gets off to a great start and becomes a life changing monument at Marysville Public Schools. Every dollar raised will go directly to the scholarship fund, with a portion of the proceeds going to the ALS of Michigan. Your donations are greatly appreciated! For those of you that golf, we will be hosting the 1st Annual Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund Golf Outing at Marysville Golf Course on June 14th, 2014 as an additional and fun way to support our mission.
"I am so very proud that my sons John and Brian, along with Nick, Drew, and Matt Beaudry (I like to call "my other sons") have made it their mission to honor my husband and their Dad's memory in such a special way by creating the "Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund," which will keep Dennis' love for learning alive by helping a deserving Marysville graduating senior go to college while at the same time helping others fight ALS, the dreaded disease Dennis fought against for four years. Please consider making a donation to this great cause today! Thank you."
-Julie Murr
It is our pleasure to invite you to join us in honoring our father Dennis Murray as we institute The Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund. On October 10, 2009, our Dad, following a courageous battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, passed away but his fight and spirit remains with us. Approximately 5,600 people in the United States are diagnosed with ALS each year. The incidence of ALS is two out of every 100,000 people, and it is estimated that as many as 30,000 Americans may be diagnosed with this disease at any time. ALS is a terminal disease for which there is no cure and as a result this disease carries a short-term life expectancy. After his initial diagnosis, Dad fought this horrible disease for nearly 4 years, making sure he didn't miss the moments he held dearest to his heart, like our graduations and the birth of his grandchildren. It is because of our Dad's desire this fight remains instilled in our hearts today. Our family is joining forces with Drew, Nick, and Matt Beaudry to carry on our father's vision for education by raising funds for an annual scholarship bearing his name at Marysville High School. In addition to this scholarship, a portion of the proceeds raised will be donated to ALS of Michigan to aid those individuals currently enduring the same fight against this horrible disease. To support our fundraising efforts, my twin brother Brian and I, together with the Beaudry Brothers will be running a 26.2 mile marathon in Charlevoix, Michigan on June 21, 2014. It is our hope that embarking on this difficult journey will preserve the legacy of our Dad's efforts in the educational system and community and help those fighting this horrible disease.
Our Father, His Vision, His Life
Dennis John Murray was born on June 3, 1950 in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan and moved to Marysville in 1981. It is in this wonderful community that he raised his family and would remain an active member of the Marysville community and schools for the rest of his life. Dad was a lifelong community activist. Dennis served as the School Board President from 1995-1999, which was a position he dearly loved. He spearheaded the "Room to Grow" millage campaign, which brought long-overdue renovations to all of Marysville's schools in the mid-1990's. Above all, he believed that education was the key that unlocked a person's God-given potential. His passion for improving Marysville's educational system and expanding opportunities for students were at the foremost of his activism.
"Dennis Murray had an integral part in bringing me to Marysville and I am forever grateful to him for that. He was an outstanding man, husband, father, and leader of our district. I will never forget when I was hired in, he would always tell me, "if you need something, we will get it". He followed his words through with effort and action and made Marysville schools a better place. It was a pleasure to work for him and a pleasure to coach his two sons!"
-Tom Valko, Assistant Principal/Athletic Director, Head Varsity Boys Basketball Coach '98-'08
The Scholarship
While our Dad is no longer with us today, we are continuing his mission of expanding student opportunity through the Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund,an annual scholarship designated for a graduating senior. He believed that the foundation of a great public education centered on the Big 3: Academics, Athletics, and the Arts. Recipients must demonstrate the highest level of commitment to academic achievement while enriching their education by participating in athletic and arts programs as well. Minimum years of participation, educational references, and other various standardized criteria will be utilized in the selection process of applicants. It is our mission through this scholarship to reward those who exemplify the same educational values and pursuit of higher education. This scholarship will help develop the next generation of leaders through a commitment to higher education while honoring the life and principles of our father Dennis Murray. The logo located at the top of the first page was the very same logo that he used to signify his mission for education at Marysville Public Schools while serving as School Board President.
The Charlevoix Marathon
When selecting an event to be the inception point for our fundraising efforts, we wanted a challenge both mentally and physically that would require the same courage, strength, and will to complete that would be worthy of our Dad's fight. Our fundraising objectives will be supported with each stride of the 26.2 miles on the shoreline of Lake Michigan in addition to hundreds of training miles beforehand. Our training started on March 1st as we devoted our daily lives and schedules for the next four months to meet the physical and mental demands of this mission. Hour training sessions on treadmills, 4:00 a.m. runs and swimming workouts, and braving below freezing temperatures for 10-20 mile runs outside quickly confirmed the statistic of why only less than 1% of the world population have completed a marathon. As we embark on the final grueling stretch of our training, we need your support. Please follow our journey via our Facebook Page at The Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund and on Twitter at @MurrayFund. Your messages of encouragement would be greatly appreciated to help with our training.
"Dennis's life was a marathon of working to improve everyone else's life, it is only fitting that a marathon is being run in his honor." - Dave Beaudry
We Need Your Help!!!
We need YOUR HELP to complete this mission!!! Our goals are set high to ensure that this scholarship gets off to a great start and becomes a life changing monument at Marysville Public Schools. Every dollar raised will go directly to the scholarship fund, with a portion of the proceeds going to the ALS of Michigan. Your donations are greatly appreciated! For those of you that golf, we will be hosting the 1st Annual Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund Golf Outing at Marysville Golf Course on June 14th, 2014 as an additional and fun way to support our mission.
"I am so very proud that my sons John and Brian, along with Nick, Drew, and Matt Beaudry (I like to call "my other sons") have made it their mission to honor my husband and their Dad's memory in such a special way by creating the "Dennis J. Murray Memorial Scholarship Fund," which will keep Dennis' love for learning alive by helping a deserving Marysville graduating senior go to college while at the same time helping others fight ALS, the dreaded disease Dennis fought against for four years. Please consider making a donation to this great cause today! Thank you."
-Julie Murr
Organiser
John Edward
Organiser
Marysville, MI
