Last May the Quad Cities River Bandits (Low Class A; Midwest League) awarded Amanda Stahle, a Bettendorf High School senior, the first-ever Keith Lucier Memorial Scholarship, established in honor of the former River Bandits front-office employee. It was money well-spent: she enters final semester of her freshman year with a 3.69 GPA and a spot on the Dean’s List.
Stahle, a student in the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, also throws discus on the Hawkeye track and field team.
“We at the River Bandits are all very proud of Amanda’s early academic and athletic success,” said Bandits owner Dave Heller. “She has proven to be very deserving of the scholarship with her success in her first semester and her dedication to bettering herself and her community. I have no doubt that Amanda will continue to enjoy great success in the future and go on to do great things, and we are delighted that we can help through our Bandit Scholars program.”
The River Bandits established the Bandit Scholars program in 2008 and the Keith Lucier Memorial Scholarship in the summer of 2009. With the winner selected by a committee comprised of Keith’s widow, Jennifer, his mother, Tonie, and various other friends, co-workers, River Bandits executives and family members, the scholarship is designed to cover the first year of tuition to the University of Iowa for one Quad City area student and a summer internship with the River Bandits.
This past year’s scholarship reflected the beginning of the Bandit Scholars program. Bandit Scholars was founded by River Bandits owners Dave Heller and Bob Herrfeldt and is funded by the team, in part through fan donations and fund-raising efforts by the River Bandits. The Lucier Scholarship is named for former River Bandit assistant general manager, Keith Lucier, who passed away suddenly in April, 2009 from a brain aneurysm at the age of 35.
Lucier was a graduate of Bettendorf High School and the University of Iowa. He was known for being an avid sports fan who fondly recalled his days as an offensive lineman for the Bettendorf Bulldogs when they won the state title in 1991. In addition to the River Bandits, his favorite teams were the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Chicago Cubs.
“It’s great to see the success that Amanda is already having at the University of Iowa,” said River Bandits general manager Kirk Goodman. “She was very deserving of this scholarship and she has set a high standard for all future recipients. We are thrilled to continue this program and we’re eager to begin the process of selecting the recipient of the second-annual Keith Lucier Memorial Scholarship.”
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