{"id":19123,"date":"2016-08-22T09:41:46","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T13:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=19123"},"modified":"2016-08-22T09:52:39","modified_gmt":"2016-08-22T13:52:39","slug":"the-first-marks-ride-scholarship-recipient-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/the-first-marks-ride-scholarship-recipient-is\/","title":{"rendered":"The first Mark’s Ride scholarship recipient is…"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Family and friends of local lawyer Mark Reid gathered at River Mill Park yesterday (August 21) to award the first Mark’s Ride scholarship to a student from Muskoka who is studying law.<\/p>\n

The inaugural Mark’s Ride was held last September shortly after Mark’s death on August 13, 2015. Family and friends rode through Algonquin Park to honour Mark’s memory, his love for cycling and his passion for law. The money raised from that event – $1800 – was placed in a scholarship fund to be given to someone local who has gone on to study law.<\/p>\n

A three-person committee received nine applications and the decision was a difficult one, said Carrie Campbell, Mark’s wife. “They were all incredible. Very inspiring. We have incredible young people in Muskoka. In the end, the recipient was the one constant among the three of us.”<\/p>\n

Mark would have loved the idea of a scholarship in his name, said Campbell. “He loved school himself. If he could have been a professional student, he would have. And he liked to help people. For him this would be giving back – law school is so much more expensive now. For local kids to be going, it’s tough. He would have loved that friends and family and people that we don’t know are coming and donating to help a young person’s life.”<\/p>\n

The first recipient of the Mark’s Ride scholarship is Bonnie Greenaway, who says she is grateful for the scholarship in the name of a man who encouraged her. “Growing up I remember him talking about his career (Bonnie is friends with Mark’s daughter) – he was really passionate. He always encouraged us to get out, see the world a bit, and get an education.”<\/p>\n

Greenaway has her sights set on being a litigator; she’s unsure yet in which area of law. “I’m torn between business and criminal law and I would actually like to eventually get into animal welfare which isn’t an area of the law that’s developed yet but it’s something that’s important to me. I initially wanted to be a lawyer because I watched the show ‘Animal Cops’ and saw them arguing it out in court to try to prosecute people and I thought, ‘they should get stiffer sentences for that’. I’ve loved all of the areas of law that I’ve studied so far and I’m looking forward to trying them out. I know that Mark was a general practitioner as well.” Bonnie has two years of school remaining.<\/p>\n

\"Mark'sBonnie Greenaway (third from left) with members of the Reid family<\/p>\n

Mark’s Ride organizer and one of Mark’s close friends, Tracey Christian, said, “He would have been humbled by this. He loved helping people but he loved helping them silently. Because he loved the law so much and seeing people getting into the same career, he would have loved seeing people getting out and supporting that.”<\/p>\n

They are hoping to have 50-75 riders join Mark’s Ride on September 11 this year, said Christian. “I am hoping every year to be able to build on it to grow the scholarship and keep Mark’s memory going.”<\/p>\n

The second annual Mark’s Ride will include awareness for cycling safety. Armstrong Dodge, Edmonds GM and Bickley Ford have come on board as corporate sponsors. And, new this year, t-shirts will also be available for sale.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Mark’s Ride and how to participate here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n