Chapter President Scott Welsh

The newly formed Southeastern Ohio Chapter of the National Football Foundation held their inaugural scholar-athlete luncheon on Sunday, April 18, 2004 in Athens. The highly successful event was held at the Ohio University Lecture Hall Rotunda.

The strength of the new chapter lies in its leadership. Founding President Scott Welsh brings a great deal creativity and enthusiasm that allowed the chapter to be created within months of its initial organization meeting. Rick Walls, the Director of Operations for the National Football Foundation and a native Athens, also provided his help to the project.

While the theme of the afternoon was “excellence on and off the football field,” it was quite appropriate that Dave Zastudil served as the keynote speaker.

As a member of the Ohio University football team from 1997-2001, Dave was a model student-athlete who excelled both on the gridiron and in the classroom. He led the Mid-American Conference in punting in each of his four seasons as a Bobcat and earned All-America honors as a senior. Dave is currently the record setting punter for the Baltimore Ravens

The Southeastern Ohio Chapter’s inaugural class of scholar-athletes consisted of five young men who truly represent the Foundation’s values of academic excellence, success on the football field and leadership in their communities. The outstanding group included: Joey Graham, River Valley High School; Wes Harkins, Vinton County High School; Chris Hewitt, Athens High School; Adam Hughes, Miller High School; Austin Rohr, Logan High School.