A scholarship fund named in honour of a college student killed late last year was announced last week during an event hosted by the Aggies Club.
The Nicholas Baier Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund was announced with $19,000 put in the fund to get started.
Baier died of injuries sustained when a bar patron of Texas Mickey drove into a crowd standing on the sidewalk outside the bar shortly after midnight on Oct. 29, 2010. Three others were injured. A Calgary man is facing numerous charges including first degree murder.
In announcing the fund, which will allow at least a $750 scholarship every year to an Olds College student, Jordan Cleland, vice-president of advancement, told the assembled crowd at the Alumni Centre that fundraising for the fund was, by design, slow to get off the ground. Instead, the college was advising the Baier family on the types of options open to them.
“A whole bunch of activity has happened in the last two or three weeks, ” he said.
In gathering the funds, small amounts were raised during a candlelight vigil held in honour of Baier, followed by more fundraising at the college staff Christmas party. More than $15,000 was raised during a steer auction held recently in the Altario area, where Baier was from.
Prior to the announcement, fellow student Ken Morey read a letter from the family, addressed to all those associated with the college.
It read, in part, “There are no words to express the sincere thank you, your love and kindness and expressions of sympathy you have shown us since that tragic night when Nicholas was taken from us. We are moved by the huge support you gave us attending the funeral. Each of you have been an immeasurable source of strength. We appreciate the thoughtfulness and efforts of organizing the events held at the college in memory of our son and brother.”
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the endowment fund can write a cheque or money order to Olds College, specifying the funds are to go the “Nicholas Baier Memorial Fund”and mail it to the attention of Ken Risi at the college. Alternatively, people can call the college and ask for Karen Viney, who will process the credit card information over the phone. Donors are requested to provide their address so that the college can issue a tax receipt in their name.
The announcement of the endowment was part of a broader event organized by the Aggie Club, in which Jay Bradshaw, president of Syngenta, a farm-chemical company that specializes in herbicides, fungicides and other products, was the guest speaker.
"There are no words to express the sincere thank you, your love and kindness and expressions of sympathy you have shown us since that tragic night when Nicholas was taken from us."Letter from the family of Nicholas Baier addressed to the Olds College community
