The late Waldo Cleland, a respected Columbian, devoted Pearl River Community College enthusiast and the father of Archery in Mississippi Schools (AIMS), will be honored through the Waldo Cleland Memorial Scholarship through PRCC.
Waldo’s son, Wiley, who played baseball at PRCC before transferring to Louisiana-Monroe then William Carey, said it means a lot to the family to be able to change a young student’s life in his father’s name.
“We wanted to do something to remember him,” Wiley explained, “and actually Tom and Renee Porter played a big part in doing it. They went to Pearl River at the same time my parents did. I went to Pearl River. It was the perfect place to do it.”
To announce the creation of the scholarship, the Cleland family threw out the first pitch in Poplarville at a Pearl River game against East Central Community College on April 17.
“It was pretty cool,” Wiley said of throwing out the first pitch. “Obviously I have a lot of ties with the baseball (program) down there, but we’re all avid fans and supporters of the Pearl River Wildcats in any way, shape, form or fashion.”
Wiley said with Waldo being a big wildlife guy, the annual scholarship will be awarded to someone majoring in a wildlife field, someone who is an outdoorsman or someone involved in archery.
“The Cleland family have always been wonderful supporters of their community and PRCC,” Delana Harris, Executive Director of Development Foundation/Alumni Association for PRCC, said in a statement. “We hope to create a living legacy in Mr. Waldo’s honor by selecting a student that represents his love for archery, the outdoors, and Pearl River Community College.”
One of the most rewarding parts about the scholarship is being able to have a huge impact on a recipient’s life. Wiley said he didn’t fully understand the importance of scholarships until he was in the same situation when he was graduating high school.
“Looking back on it and how much it helped me and helped my family (to be awarded scholarships), it meant the world to us and helped me get through school,” he said. “I know what it means to me, and I just hope it means that to someone else and their family.”
Waldo, who attended Pearl River after graduating from Columbia Academy in 1983, owned Waldo’s Sports Center in Columbia for 19 years and started the AIMS program prior to serving as Mississippi College’s archery coach.
Donations for the scholarship fund can be made by visiting prcc.edu/alumni/donate, calling (601) 403-1183 or mailing checks to the PRCC Development Foundation to P.O. Box 5389, Poplarville, MS 39470.
