The Union County Lions Club had 7 total Martin/Shick scholarships to award out of 26 Union County High School applicants. Competition was fierce, and these 7 seniors are well-deserving.

Driven by a desire to help others with communication and swallowing disorders, REECE MOORE plans to become a Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist when she graduates from the University of Knoxville with a Masters in Speech Pathology. Because she understands the importance of basic communication for everyone, Reece plans on a minor in Sign Language. She is getting experience in lessons, evaluations, and vocal testing as an intern at Maynardville’s Mission Hope. Reece has a commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of individuals facing communication challenges.

KATIE DYKES gets a great deal of satisfaction by helping others and has always been drawn to different aspects of the medical field. While not comfortable with direct patient contact, she is very interested in Medical Laboratory Science. Hematology and Microbiology are the two fields that most interest her. Hematology studies samples of blood and body fluids to assist the physician with diagnosis and treatment. Pathology analyzes body tissues and cells again to assist with diagnosis and treatment.

The University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky states they “will teach you how to take charge of every phase of the project management process: planning, launching, implementing, monitoring, and assessing outcomes”. And blossoming entrepreneur SETH GRIGSBY is looking for exactly that. He likes the challenge of organizing and planning. His role model is his dad, who owned several businesses in Luttrell and is the businessman and entrepreneur Seth would like to become. Seth has already developed ideas about managing small local businesses and possibly branching out to owning and managing his own Airbnbs in rural settings.

A power-line installer, also known as a” lineman,” is responsible for installing, maintaining, and repairing electrical transmission and distribution lines. Linemen work on both overhead and underground systems, with high voltage and in potentially hazardous conditions. They often must climb high off the ground on poles or transmission towers. In any emergency, severe or violent weather, they often travel to other states to assist in disaster recovery. And that is exactly what SYLUS MURRAY plans to do with his life. He's going to Calhoun Community College Lineman School in Huntsville TN. Sylus wants to become expert enough at this that he can become a traveling lineman and go where the need is the most. And, bonus, heights don’t bother him. AND he loves to climb!

KELSEY HOLT'S grandmother was a basketball player and instilled the love of the sport in Kelsey when she was very young. Kelsey has played basketball her entire life and considers it a key part of her identity. While she loves playing, surprisingly her dream is not to play in the NCAA. Kelsey will be attending Johnson University with plans to get knowledge, experience and degrees in Sports and Fitness. Her goal there is to play basketball, learn about physical education, and plan to become an excellent basketball coach. Kelsey really enjoys working with kids and teaching them various aspects of the sport. The sport and fitness field includes numerous opportunities for mentoring relationships, and that seems right up her alley! Nana would be so proud!

Supply chain management. This is probably not something many people think about in their daily lives. It encompasses the flow of goods, data and finances related to a product or service. This can start at the raw materials and continue through to the finished product. Haslam College of Business at the University of TN consistently ranks among the top 25 public business schools in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Undergraduate Business Programs” rankings. Their supply chain management program is particularly strong, consistently ranking among the top public and national programs. So, it is no surprise that UCHS senior JACE WALKER plans to attend this college in the fall. He says he is “passionate about supply chain management and how important it is to company success and customer satisfaction.

Everyone has a different opinion of what success is. ETHAN SAWYER'S definition is fairly simple. “Success is not having to worry if I have enough money to pay my bills this week”. And for Ethan, “success isn’t being rich. It’s being comfortable”. Ethan feels that, for him, the pathway to that success, to living a comfortable life, is through a good college education. And of all the possibilities open to him, he feels that a College of Business will give him many career options when he graduates.

And these were the 2025 recipients of the Mark Martin / Ralph Shick Union County Lions Club Scholarship. With 26 highly qualified applicants, choosing only 7 as the recipients was extremely difficult, and the scoring was very close, sometimes by a hundredth of a point. Students were scored on a 150-word essay and an informal meeting with five community and Lions Club members.

MARK MARTIN taught music in the Union County school system for 27 years. He was known as a terrific teacher, a highly skilled and talented musician, friendly, and loved to joke around. Six of the seven recipients had been students of Mark Martin. Mark passed away in May of 2015.

A multi-talented man, RALPH SHICK excelled at water skiing, performing semi-pro feats on the water. He was a talented singer and musician, taking great joy in playing his harmonica. A gifted artist, his stained-glass work is an intricate part of the sacred worship space at Irwin’s Chapel United Methodist and Chapel of the Good Shepherd Lutheran churches in Sharps Chapel. Ralph passed in November of 2023.

The Union County Lions Club honors the memories of artists Mark Martin and Ralph Shick each year with scholarships for Union County High School seniors.