Marion High School Alumni Association congratulates this year’s winners of the MHSAA F. Ritchie Walton Arts Scholarship: Elizabeth Harvey and Shaylee Vermilion, both members of Marion High School’s Class of 2023.

The Marion High School Alumni Association board awarded the organization’s annual
MHSAA F. Ritchie Walton Arts Scholarship on May 23. Front row, from left,
is MHSAA President Lisa Weaver, scholarship winner Shaylee Vermilion, Dave Rees,
scholarship winner Elizabeth Harvey, Lori Eltzroth, and MHSAA Vice President Kylie Jackson.
Back row, from left, is MHS Principal Lloyd Bryant, Gabe Delgado, Kellie Street, Jenni Meyer,
MHSAA Treasurer Julie Flores, Steve Smithley, Carol Hamilton, Janet Barnett, Steve Wright,
and MHS Athletic Director Steve Moritz.

This scholarship honors Marion High School students for their accomplishments and involvement in arts education, and their plans to pursue a career in the arts.

The MHSAA F. Ritchie Walton Endowment for the Arts was established in 2021, combining the MHSAA Giant Arts Endowment, founded in 2015, and the F. Ritchie Walton Endowment, founded in 2002 in honor of innovative music educator F. Ritchie Walton, who put Marion High School on the map with excellent music and theatre programs. Walton’s legacy lives on in the performing arts center named for him at Marion High School.

Elizabeth Harvey is a CSA Arts Academy student who has trained for 6 years in theatre, music, dance, and technical theatre. She has also for the past three years taught dance classes for younger children at CSA, finding a love of choreography and teaching. She was also this year’s recipient of the James Dean Scholarship at CSA, given to an outstanding graduating CSA senior pursuing the arts in the future.

Over the years Elizabeth has performed in dozens of performances on the main stage at the F. Ritchie Walton Performing Arts Center. At Marion High School she served as co-president of the Green Society, was a member of National Honor Society, and was a class officer. Elizabeth will be pursuing a degree in theatre performance and dance at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Shaylee Vermilion is also a CSA Arts Academy student. She has been involved in the arts for 12 years, and has performed in more than 30 shows, many of them on the main stage at the Walton. She is on the board of Fusion Arts Alliance and has performed in downtown Marion through FAA’s events. She has also performed with CSA Civic Theatre.

At Marion High School she was a member of Key Club, a community service youth organization affiliated with Kiwanis. She plans to attend Ivy Tech to study photography, and then pursue a BFA in musical theatre, though she is still undecided where she will continue her education.

Congratulations to these two outstanding young artists!

Marion Community Schools is grateful for the continued support of the Marion High School Alumni Association and the community. Collaborative efforts like this enable us to provide excellent opportunities for our students!

If you would like to give to the MHSAA F. Ritchie Walton Endowment for the Arts, you can do so online here: givetogrant.org/giantarts.