OUR PURPOSE
The Larry Pickett Memorial Student Scholarship rewards students pursuing an advanced education from an accredited higher learning institution for outstanding academic performance and community contributions with financial assistance.
THE AWARD-$2,000
The $2,000 scholarship consist of $1,000 per semester, with proof of continued enrollment. The scholarship will be valid for one year and recipients may (and are encouraged to) reapply for subsequent consideration. The scholarship will be awarded to a qualified applicant selected by the Atlanta Hockey Foundation Larry Pickett Memorial Scholarship selection committee who is interested in pursuing any area of study at the college or university level based on merit. Scholarships will be awarded to a student who is a child or grandchild of a current or former member of the Atlanta Amateur Hockey League (AAHL) or a member themselves. The scholarship funds will be disbursed for tuition, books and other approved specific needs. The disbursement will be made directly to the Institution.
FOR MORE DETAILS AND TO APPLY...
THE LARRY PICKETT BACKSTORY
It was probably late 2002, maybe early 2003 when I heard for the first time Larry Pickett, friend, husband, father, hockey player and acting League Secretary had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about the disease but knew enough to know the diagnosis wasn’t good.
Larry fought the debilitating and fatal disease for 5 years before it took his life. Larry was surrounded by friends, family and teammates. He left his wife, Gina who then and to this day remains the League Administrator, as well as two sons, Kyle and Connor, 13 and 10 years old at the time of his death.
Larry’s fight with ALS started at age 45 and he was 49 when he died. Larry went from being a healthy athletic man to wheelchair bound in less than 2 years. ALS is an always devastating, fatal neurodegenerative disease and strikes anyone at anytime and there is no known cure or treatment.
As a community (a hockey community), we all knew we needed to do something for the Pickett’s and their boys. This was the catalyst for creating the Atlanta Hockey Foundation. The Foundation was established to support current and former players and their families in a time of need, to help provide needed services and to eventually provide scholarship support, keeping both Kyle and Connor’s future needs in mind.
Push the fast forward button, the Foundation has been able to support multiple players and their families over the years. It has awarded well over $50,000 in scholarships and yes, it helped both Kyle and Connor with their college education needs. Needless to say, this is why our scholarship bears his name, the Larry Pickett Memorial Scholarship.
About Larry, he grew up in Canton, Massachusetts where he went to grade and high school. He went on to graduate from Barrington College (now part of Gordon College) with a B.S. in Math & Computer Science. He started playing hockey when he was a young boy on the ponds in Massachusetts. He moved to Atlanta in 1990, met Gina in 1991 and they married in 1992.
You can still support Larry by helping find a cure. Gina and the boys (now men) continue to show their love for Larry and raise funds in his honor and memory in the Walk to Defeat ALS – Larry’s Legacy annual fundraiser. Find out more at: http://web.alsa.org/goto/Larrys_Legacy.
MEMORIES WITH LARRY & FAMILY
