WS Chronicle

Last week, the Winston-Salem Sportsmen Club presented their 2020 Mary Garber Scholarship at the Winston Lake YMCA. This year’s recipient is Tatiyana Cannon of Parkland High School.

According to the website, the scholarship is awarded each year to one outstanding senior female varsity basketball player from a Winston-Salem/Forsyth County high school. Selection is based on academic record, extracurricular activities and community involvement, and their pursuit of education.  

The Sportsmen Club has been awarding this scholarship for 15 years and the scholarship rotates to a different school each year. The scholarship is worth $1,000 and is to be used to assist with financial obligations as the athletes pursue their higher education.

Ken Leak, Parkland girls head basketball coach, said he and his staff chose Cannon based on her performance at the Mary Garber Tournament.

“She put on a show for three games, she really did,” said Leak. “She stepped up and did what she had to do as a senior and as a captain of the team, she led the team.

“When she came to Parkland, the first thing she said was ‘Coach, I made the all-tournament team last year and we lost in the championship game. I want to win it (Mary Garber Tournament) before I graduate.’ She put us on her back, she had some ups and downs, but she did her thing this year. She is a good kid and I couldn’t ask for anything else as a coach.”

It was a surprise for Cannon when she found out she was the scholarship recipient for this year.

“I felt shocked and I was like ‘Did they pick the right person?,” Cannon said jokingly. “I thought that I did well in the Mary Garber, so I guess that’s what made them choose me.”

Cannon says she was unsure about how she was going to play heading into the Mary Garber Tournament, but her coaches and teammates gave her the necessary confidence to play well. Even though her season was cut short, Cannon feels she has progressed more during this season than her first three years combined.

“Before I came to Parkland, I wasn’t really progressing as I should,” said Cannon. “Once I got here to Parkland, Coach Leak told me to not think about how I used to play, but instead to think positively.”

Cannon was very thankful to the Sportsmen Club for her scholarship. She will be heading to Montreat College to further her education and this scholarship will help with that transition.

“I am very, very thankful for them presenting me with this scholarship,” she continued. “I didn’t think that I was going to get a scholarship for the Mary Garber and they just made me feel excited and confident in myself.”

Robert Wynn, president of the Winston-Salem Sportsmen Club, says he gets excited to present this scholarship in honor of Mary Garber, because of her dedication to women’s sports in the Triad area.

“It means a great deal to us and it makes me feel good to help these young ladies,” said Wynn. “It’s a beautiful thing for me and as I look back on the young ladies that have won this in the past, and they are doing well, which makes me smile.”