R.I. woman’s gift will help kids stay on track for years
Two of Mabel Velge’s passions melded Monday – a sunny Earth Day, and the Rock Island High School track at the football stadium.
Several local education and athletic leaders gathered there Monday afternoon to honor the longtime Rock Island runner, who bequeathed $372,000 to the Rock Island-Milan Education Foundation (RIMEF) to establish an annual scholarship for student athletes at Rock Island High School.
The generous gift will fund the Steven and Mabel M. Velge Track & Cross-Country Scholarship through the RIMEF’s scholarship program.
Each year, two $6,000 scholarships will be awarded to one male and one female student who have been members of the RIHS track or cross-country teams and who plan to further their education at a college, university, or trade school.
The first scholarships will be announced May 8, 2024 at the Austin Academic Achievement Award and RIMEF Scholarship Night at the RIHS auditorium.
It was appropriate the check presentation was made on Earth Day, since Mabel loved the Earth, said Mary Gloeckner Bouljon, a longtime friend of Mabel, her caretaker for the last six years of her life and the executor of her estate. Mabel had no children of her own.
“She loved walking outside, running, water skiing and working in her garden,” Bouljon said, noting Mabel had over 40 pink flamingos in her yard.
“It’s a big scholarship and I think it will mean a lot to the young men and women who receive it,” she said.
Mabel Velge was born in Colusa, Ill., the youngest of 10 siblings, and moved to Rock Island (where her sister lived), here for 74 years. She worked at the Rock Island Arsenal in the Accounting Department for 34 years. Well known as “The Grande Dame” of the Cornbelt Running Club, Velge passed away peacefully June 16, 2023 at age 96.
“It’s a wonderful way to remember Mabel,” Bouljon said of the new scholarship. “Mabel would be so excited to see all of this. She loved running, she loved young people and she will be the biggest cheerleader from up above for all the young men and women who receive these scholarships.”
She was also on the board for the running club, and Mabel and Mary served for 20 years. Mabel lived her last years at Friendship Manor in Rock Island.
William Stengel, a Rock Island attorney who helped present the check Monday, said her gift was made in part to recognize “this community is made up of generous people,” he said.
Barbara Cady, RIMEF board president, praised Mabel for honoring students and investing in the high school graduates.
“As a long-distance runner, Mabel understood that you had to set a goal and work at it day after day after day,” Cady said. “She knew that by establishing this scholarship for track and cross-country, she would be helping individuals who were sure to work hard day after day, and do their best to accomplish great things, to finish the race.
“We are so grateful for Mabel’s thoughtfulness, generosity, and always, go Rocks!,” she added.
“We are truly grateful and humbled to see the excitement that this will generate in our future runners,” said Susana Williams, head coach for Rocky’s girls’ cross-country.
Jarrin Williams, head coach of Rocky’s boys’ track & field, also thanked Mabel’s generosity, to help students achieve their dreams.
Eddie Williams, head coach of the school girls’ track & field, said the scholarship will go a long way to help kids pay for college. “We’re super, super excited for Rock Island right now,” he said.
Mabel provided the gift in honor of her son, Steven (Rock Island High School Class of 1968 who died in 2018) and for her love of running. Mabel, who started running at the age of 55, after retiring, was a member of the Cornbelt Running Club for many years and ran numerous races along with 20 marathons all over the country.
The man who took her job at the Arsenal was a runner and asked her to start walking with him at his lunch hour, Bouljon said. “Then he said, ‘You should run with me sometime,’ and once she started running, she caught the big, and ran 22 marathons after age 55.”
“She just loved running marathons,” she said, noting her last one was at age 84. Mabel’s favorite one was in Big Sur, Calif., and she did the QC Marathon twice, Bouljon said.
For more information on the education foundation, click HERE.
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