North Marion HS teacher honored with golf tournament

FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Around one hundred people from across the nation gathered at the Green Hills Country Club in Marion County on Friday to participate in the inaugural Nelson Elliott Golf Scramble in honor of the long-time math teacher, soccer and football coach Nelson Elliott.

Funds from the event will go towards the former Doc Elliott Scholarship, which was renamed last year as the Nelson Elliott Foundation Scholarship. The scholarship is typically given to one graduating North Marion High School student who is pursuing higher education.

Elliott served the North Marion High School community for almost 40 years. His family said he was instrumental in keeping the scholarship alive for decades, even selling water bottles out of his classroom at one point.

Stephanie Tomana, a member of the Samuel Nelson Elliott Foundation board of directors, is grateful for the donations towards the scholarship.

“When Nelson passed away, his family asked that instead of flowers, everybody donated in his memory to the Doc Elliott scholarship,” Tomana said. “The outpouring was so great that we were able to award three scholarships this year.”

Two of the scholarship recipients were highlighted ahead of the tee-off, with Richie Eddy as one of the recipients. Eddy alongside his father, Richard Eddy, were students of Elliot’s, with Elliott also serving as Richard Eddy’s football coach, something Richard Eddy said was special to his family.

Leisha Elliott, Nelson Elliott’s widow, hopes that people remember him fondly.

“A lot of people here that had Nelson as a teacher, and I think for a lot of people, he—it was a game changer to have him as their math teacher,” Leisha said. “People have a love-hate relationship with math and he tried to make it fun, make it personal and people haven’t forgotten that.”

Organizers said they already have a date set for next year and hope to bring the tournament back annually.

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