Hall Scholarship Focuses on Kindness & Respect

This article is a continuation of a series featuring each scholarship fund that is provided through the Mid-Prairie Foundation.

The Mid-Prairie Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 to improve educational excellence. Thanks to the Foundation, over 55 education scholarships were awarded to Mid-Prairie graduates in 2022. Graduates received over $95,000 in funding to support their dreams of a college education. Thank you to the many donors who make a yearly impact on our Mid-Prairie students and their opportunities to reach for the stars. In this 5th article in our series highlighting the Foundation’s scholarships awarded to Mid-Prairie graduating seniors, we would like to recognize the Leo and Martha Hall Scholarship.

Leo “Chub” Hall and Martha England Hall were both born on family farms near Wellman and remained life-long residents of the area. Martha graduated from Wellman High School in 1942. Leo was drafted into the US Army, and following his junior year of high school in May of 1943, he was inducted into military service. Leo and Martha were married in 1946, a few months after his discharge from the Army. Martha taught in rural schools near Wellman until 1958. She loved her role as a teacher and always fondly recalled her teaching career and former students. After leaving teaching to raise her family, Martha volunteered in numerous capacities, including with the Wellman American Legion Auxiliary, Asbury United Methodist Church, Wellman Heritage Society and others.

Leo was hired in 1946 as a mechanic at the newly established Wade Ford dealership in Wellman. He became the dealership’s manager in 1959 and owner in 1965, continuing until he retired in 1999.

As a local businessman, he was an active supporter of his community and of Mid-Prairie schools. He was also active in the Wellman Community Club and the American Legion.

Leo and Martha had two children who graduated from Mid-Prairie. Their son, Tom Hall, graduated in 1976, and their daughter, Pamela Hall Moore, graduated in 1979.

As students are considered for the Leo and Martha Hall Scholarship, preference is given to students with an interest in entrepreneurship, a career in education or a career in technical, scientific or engineering fields. These areas reflect Leo’s technical and business expertise and Martha’s teaching career. In order to be eligible to receive this scholarship, students must be generally great citizens and hard workers. Leo and Martha believed in giving back to their community. When establishing this scholarship, children Pam and Tom wanted to recognize students who demonstrate positive contributions by showing respect, kindness and care to others in the Mid-Prairie school community. Just as Leo and Martha worked hard throughout their lifetimes, Pam and Tom also believed hard work can result in future students achieving their goals. They wanted this scholarship to be an encouragement to future generations to continue on these paths of treating others with respect and working hard for the future.

The Leo and Martha Scholarship awarded its first recipient,

Bailey Hershberger, in 2017. Additional recipients of the scholarship include:

2018 - Katie Palmer

2019 - Kylee Kos

2020 - Abbi Patterson

2021 - Nasya Leaton

2022 - Madelyn Bender

Are you interested in making a donation to the Mid-Prairie Foundation and supporting future Mid-Prairie graduates? Your contribution can help ensure that our Mid-Prairie students have the opportunity to reach for their dreams. If you have interest or questions about contributing, contact Hayley Sieren Hershberger ‘11 (319-430-4346) or Junell Swantz Duwa ‘79 (319330-8882). You can also find more information about the Foundation at https://www.mphawks.org/district/ partners/midprairie-foundation.