Raising scholarship money in memory of Jenny Melton

OAKWOOD - It's become an annual summertime tradition in Oakwood: the Jenny Melton/Father's Day 5K Cross-Country Race and 1-Mile FunRun. And, it was held Saturday morning at Gainesville State College.

It is held each Father's Day weekend in memory of Jenny Melton, a West Hall High School senior, who died in a traffic accident in 2002 just a month before she was to graduate.

It's also a fundraiser for the Jenny Melton Foundation Scholarship Fund, which helps high school graduates go on to college.

Awards were given to the top finishers in a host of age groups, as well as to the male and female winners in the Grand Masters, Masters and Overall divisions.

Jenny was an honor student, an athlete and a runner, according to her father, Butch Melton, who has said "all she wanted to do was attend Duke University."
The homecoming queen's death prompted Melton to continue his daughter's legacy via a non-profit foundation.

"We started the race to help raise money for Hall County students to go to college and keep her (legacy alive)," he explained. The ultimate goal, Melton said, is to establish an endowment of $300,000 to keep the scholarship program going for decades to come.

Contributions can be made to the Jenny Melton Foundation via the North Georgia Community Foundation.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/6/221254