(Pictured above: Jack Collinsworth and Chase Camfield)
Story by Kayleigh Zyskowksi
JG-TC Staff Writer
Published August 27, 2012 in the Journal Gazette & Times-Courier
Chase Camfield knows the worth of a dollar and the importance of hard work. The 2012 recipient of the Arland D. Williams, Jr. Scholarship, named after the late hero, a Mattoon native who died in a plane crash in January 1982, is a part-time employee at Mark’s MyStore and a full-time finance student at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
Eighteen-year old Camfield, son of Dennis and Cheryl Camfield, is a 2011 graduate of Mattoon High School, but because of his drive he is enrolled at Eastern as a junior in the finance department, according t his scholarship nomination letter.
Mattoon High School graduates were asked to write an essay about Williams’ heroic actions that freezing day in Washington, D. C., to explain why he is considered a hero. “Without people like Williams our great country would not be able to survive,” Camfield wrote. “We need people who can take leadership roles when times are tough.”
Camfield is the 28th recipient of the scholarship, which William’s classmates and family members began to help MHS graduates with an interest in financial careers. Williams is the namesake of Williams Elementary School, and the retelling of his story through the years has brought national attending to Mattoon and offered a role model for area school children like Camfield once was.
“Be thankful for people like (Williams), for they are the ones that show true leadership skills are needed to survive in today’s world. Arland D. Williams is a true hero,” Camfield write in his winning essay.
