Payson’s city festival raising money for student scholarships
Residents participate in the Golden Onion Days 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Residents participate in the Golden Onion Days 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
For the second year, basketball will be a part of Payson’s Golden Onion Days and will not only be fun, but will also raise money for scholarships for high school students. The 3-on-3-basketball tournament and three-point shootout will be held on Aug. 25, Sept. 1 and Sept. 2, depending on the division.
“Last year, we were invited from the city to help get kids more involved in Golden Onion Days,” said Dr. Brian Rowley of Apple Valley Vision. The basketball tournament is a great way to get the youth involved and it helps fund the Power of Vision scholarship program, he said.
The program, in its third year, is for students who have vision for and demonstrate ability to do great things in their lives. The scholarship is given to a male and female student at Payson High School and this year at Salem Hills High School as well.
Students are nominated by their teachers and then chosen by the staff at Apple Valley Vision. These are students who are not the typical multiple-scholarship recipients, but are working hard for their futures. For example, one of the recipients last year was a student who greatly increased his grade point average during his high school career. The winning students demonstrate vision to bring their dreams to life.
“In order for a student to be nominated for this scholarship, we invite the faculty or staff at the respective high schools, to submit an essay, explaining why they believe the student should deserve the award,” said Rowley. “Our goal was to have the teachers or staff identify students whose strengths and passions could range from the arts or technology, science to sports and everything else in between.”
During the past two years, each of the Power of Vision scholarship recipients was given $500. Rowley would like to increase that amount and even be able to help more students. The 3-on-3-basketball tournament will help with that endeavor.
Each participant in the tournament will pay a $15 fee to play. The money garnered from these fees will all go to funding the scholarships.
The divisions for the 3-on-3 tournament are adults, boys and girls grades fifth through eighth and grades ninth through 12th. Teams will be placed into pools of four teams and each team is guaranteed at least three games. All participants will receive a t-shirt, water bottle and other prizes in a drawstring bag.
Last year, 30 teams competed. Rowley hopes that even more will participate this year. The tournament will be held at Payson Junior High School, 1025 S. Hwy. 198. To register, go to www.visionsource-applevalleyvision.com. For more information about this event or other Golden Onion Days events, check out the city’s website at paysonutah.org.