By Jim Beers, Contributing Writer
CHESTER — Chester High School 2022 graduate, Ethan Stumpe, is the recipient of both the Chester United Methodist Men’s and Chester United Methodist Women’s College Scholarships. Both awards are $750.00 each and are good for the 2022-23 school year.
Stumpe is the son of Jennifer Cartwright and Scott Stumpe. He attended Chester Grade School graduating in 2018 and Chester High School graduating in May of 2022. He will begin his collegiate education this August at Kentucky Wesleyan University where he will study to become a lawyer. He was also recruited to play football for the Panthers.
Dr. Jim Beers, Methodist Men President and Scholarship Chairman, presents Ethan Stumpe with the 2022 UMM Scholarship which was at $750.00. Stumpe will begin his collegiate career this August at Kentucky Wesleyan University where he will study law. He was also recruited to play football for the Panthers. He is the son of Scott Stumpe and Jennifer Cartwright. All are members of the First United Methodist Church in Chester. Vicky Beers Photo
Kentucky Wesleyan sponsors 21 men’s and women’s sports, 11 men’s and 10 women’s. They compete in Division II Collegiate sports in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference otherwise known as the G-Mac.
The conference is comprised of institutions in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Michigan. NCAA Division II athletic programs operate on a partial scholarship basis. These scholarships can be awarded at the discretion of the Head Coach. Stumpe was offered such a scholarship and recruited as a potential quarterback.
At Chester High School Stumpe earned Black Diamond Conference 2nd Team Football honors his junior year. As a senior, he earned 1st Team Football honors in the Cahokia Conference. That same year he was awarded All-South honors as a quarterback. Finally, his senior year Ethan earned honors on the All-State Academic Team in Class 2A Football. At CHS Stumpe was a three-year letterman in football, basketball, and baseball as a YellowJacket athlete.
Donna Clendenin, Methodist Women Scholarship Chairperson, presents Ethan Stumpe with the 2022-23 UMW College Scholarship. The award was valued at $750.00. Jim Beers Photo
At CHS Stumpe was a member in the National Society of High School Scholars his senior year. He was on the Honor Roll all four years, and earned an Academic “C” all four years as a testament to his academic achievements.
His freshman year he was presented the CHS Character Athlete Award for Basketball. His junior year he was presented the Dick Roth Campership for Baseball. His senior year Stumpe was the recipient of the Eric Sckorcz Football Award. He served as Captain of both JV and Varsity Baseball and was Captain of both JV and Varsity Football.
As a senior he was inducted into the Chester High School Summit Chapter of the National Honor Society indicating his high level of dedication to service, scholarship, character and community. He was also an Elks Student of the Month his senior year.
Stumpe is a member of the First United Methodist Church in Chester where he took part in youth activities, helped cook for the Methodist Men’s Annual Pancake Breakfast, worked as a server for the Methodist Men’s Annual Ham and Bean Dinners, and was a narrator for the Annual Youth Christmas Programs.
It was with great satisfaction and honor to award Ethan Stumpe with both the United Methodist Men’s (UMM) and United Methodist Women’s (UMW) Scholarships for the 2022-2023 school year.
The Men’s Scholarship Program began in 1962 as a memorial to Jerry Lamkin who was a member of the Methodist Church in Chester. He was studying at McKendree College, a Methodist institution, to become a Methodist Pastor. He was tragically killed in an automobile accident on his way home from school one icy night. The scholarship was begun in his memory as he was very well thought of in the Methodist Church Conference.
In 1997 Elbert and Mabel Hoppe of Chester started another Methodist Scholarship at the First United Methodist Church in Chester to honor their parents, John and Caddie Hoppe and John and Ellen McNelly. This scholarship was additionally in memory of the Rev. Hugh McNelly who was a Methodist preacher who died in 1997.
Since the inception of the Jerry Lamkin Scholarship, the First United Methodist Men have awarded 61 scholarships to 49 individuals for a total of $21,000. The Men have also awarded 57 McNelly-Hoppe Scholarships to 44 individuals for a total of $35,500.