Bates County Mizzou Club hosts Picnic and Student Send Off

True Tiger Award

Bryan & Jennifer Milligan

Presenter: Allen Sollars

It's that time of year again when the Bates County Mizzou Club hosts its annual Picnic and Student Send Off! On Thursday, July 25, 2019, Mizzou alumni, friends, family and fans gathered together for a tasty dinner, a guest speaker, awards, prizes, and more at the Adrian Optimist Building.

Dinner was catered by Adrian Blackhawks alums and Bates County Mizzou Club members Ritchie and Debbie Davis of Butthead BBQ. Silent and live auctions were held to raise funds for the Bates County Mizzou Club Scholarship Fund.

Allen Sollars presented scholarships to four deserving incoming and returning Mizzou students. The returning students received $500 scholarships. Recipients were: Payton Ritter, daughter of Steven and Lori Ritter, Adrian High School Class of 2018; and Bella Oltremare, daughter of Mike and Tommie Oltremare, Butler High School Class of 2018. Incoming student Drake Stephens, Butler High School Class of 2019, was awarded a $1,000 renewable scholarship. He is the son of Brad and Cheryl Stephens. Emmalie VanGordon, also an incoming Mizzou freshman, received a $2,000 scholarship. She is a 2019 Butler High School graduate and the daughter of John and Audrey VanGordon and Jason and Julie Lines.

Brittany Jones, Director of Football Operations at Mizzou, traveled to Adrian to speak at the picnic. Before serving as Director, Jones was the Assistant Director of Operations for two seasons. As Director, Jones is responsible for administrative duties to support Mizzou football, including: overseeing the coordination of all team travel, oversight of the football budget, handling compliance and academic issues and much more.

To end the evening, the True Tiger Award was presented to Bryan and Jennifer Milligan for their support of the Bates County Mizzou Club. Congrats!!!