The Vic Perryman Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship was formed in loving memory of a Marshfield R-1 colleague/parent/patron/volunteer. Vic Perryman, a graduate of College of the Ozarks, and his wife, Jackie Perryman, owned a local nursing home for some years. When their young daughters reached school-age, they sold the rest home and altered their family format. Jackie became the lead nursing instructor for OTC, and Vic was hired to drive a bus in the mornings and evenings for Marshfield R-1 and as an aide during the day. Vic took his bus students' and aide students' needs very seriously, going outside the school day to locate materials and people that would be helpful to his charges. Many parents of his bus children speak of Vic calling/emailing with ACT or scholarship information for his teen students and ideas for supplies/websites for his younger students. The teachers of the class for which he was an aide both note the genuine concern for and assistance of their students shown by Vic's actions. When he was not searching for materials and supplies for students, he was volunteering to drive the bus for the Speech and Debate teams, Drama, Math Teams, and ARC educational trips. Vic served on every committee to which he was asked, as well as giving of himself to annual parent panel discussions for Drury University. He was a yearly Science Fair Judge for all the grades K-6 for over 20 years, and donated countless items to the elementary science closets so that all children could have the experiences that children of wealth enjoy.
When Vic's untimely passing occurred in the summer of 2013, everyone felt bereft. Regina Spriggs wore a pair of overalls to his funeral service, in a nod to his favorite clothing of choice. That inspired the formation of "Overall Day" to raise money for a scholarship in his memory. Each year, students and teachers alike would donate $1 to be allowed to wear overalls for the appointed day. The Hubble and Webster students were allowed to dress in overalls “just for fun” and in remembrance. The person judged as looking the "most like Vic" was awarded a prize. The goal was to raise $500 a year for a Marshfield graduating senior, selected by Mrs. Perryman and her two daughters. The ultimate goal was to reach the $10,000 mark so that the scholarship could be turned over to the Foundation for administration in perpetuity. The annual goal has been met all ten of the intervening years, and last summer, through the heartfelt generosity of friends, students, and the three Perryman women, the amount for perpetuity was reached and we were able to tum the money over to the Foundation for administration.
Over these ten years, the recipients of Vic's scholarship have all gone on to complete their courses of study. This alone would have made Vic very proud. In addition to these complete lives is the knowledge that an idea was planted in the hearts of those students: "We must all plant some trees under whose shade we will never sit," (Indian Proverb) just as Vic always did.
When Vic's untimely passing occurred in the summer of 2013, everyone felt bereft. Regina Spriggs wore a pair of overalls to his funeral service, in a nod to his favorite clothing of choice. That inspired the formation of "Overall Day" to raise money for a scholarship in his memory. Each year, students and teachers alike would donate $1 to be allowed to wear overalls for the appointed day. The Hubble and Webster students were allowed to dress in overalls “just for fun” and in remembrance. The person judged as looking the "most like Vic" was awarded a prize. The goal was to raise $500 a year for a Marshfield graduating senior, selected by Mrs. Perryman and her two daughters. The ultimate goal was to reach the $10,000 mark so that the scholarship could be turned over to the Foundation for administration in perpetuity. The annual goal has been met all ten of the intervening years, and last summer, through the heartfelt generosity of friends, students, and the three Perryman women, the amount for perpetuity was reached and we were able to tum the money over to the Foundation for administration.
Over these ten years, the recipients of Vic's scholarship have all gone on to complete their courses of study. This alone would have made Vic very proud. In addition to these complete lives is the knowledge that an idea was planted in the hearts of those students: "We must all plant some trees under whose shade we will never sit," (Indian Proverb) just as Vic always did.