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About Stephen McDaniel |
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| Most of the participants
in the Steve McDaniel Memorial Shoot never knew Steve, but
when the brothers gather for this fun outing, the spirit of
Steve is there in very significant and special ways.
Steve would have loved the gathering of friends. One of his
most notable and fondly remembered characteristics was his
innate ability to be a real and true friend to everyone. He
simply saw no barriers to friendship and was easy in his
skin with all groups regardless of who they were or what
they were. His was not a boisterous garrulous presence, but rather was open, accepting, kind and warm. Being with Steve, whoever you were, was just plain comfortable and amiable. Steve loved to have a good time and he would have been right in the middle of the fun we have at the Memorial Shoot that bears his name. Steve had this impish lopsided grin that along with his engaging eyes made his face light up. When you were the recipient of his smile, you could not help but smile and feel good yourself. A significantly different side of Steve emerged when he walked onto the soccer field. There he was fearless and tenacious; nothing warm and comfortable in his presence when he engaged an opponent. He would never quit and encouraged and cheered his teammates to do the same. Steve was not without the challenges that most young men face, but he was able to rely on an inner strength that maybe even he did not realize he had. This strength and the love and support of his parents and sister, Erin, gave him the power to conquer some of the pitfalls young men experience. For those of us who knew and loved Steve, the McDaniel Memorial Shoot has its poignant moments and, for sure, some of us swallow hard a time or two when we remember Steve as the guns are locked and loaded. However, his spirit and memory never fails to make us smile and feel again his comfortable and warm presence. Steve, above all, would want us to laugh and live and love. He was a marker and he marked our lives forever. |
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About the Scholarship |
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Stephen McDaniel was from
Longview, Texas and had recently completed his Freshman year
at Texas Christian University when his life abruptly ended
in a tragic car accident in the summer of 1990. Steve was a
beloved member of the Theta Chapter of Kappa Sigma, and the
fraternity was emotionally devastated by this loss. In an
attempt to memorialize their lost brother, Theta Chapter
created the scholarship in 1992. The first scholarships were
awarded in 1992. For the first 10 years of the scholarship, a banquet was held at Rivercrest Country Club. At the banquet, wild game was served, scholarships were awarded and Mrs. McDaniel handed out inspirational books for everyone to enjoy. In the last five years, the shoot has been added as a way to raise money for the scholarship. The scholarships are now awarded Friday night before the Saturday shoot. Scholarships are awarded to fraternity members who demonstrate excellence in the classroom and who take on leadership roles in and outside of the fraternity. Applicants complete and submit an application along with a current resume. A committee of alumni meet, discuss the applicants and select the recipients.
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About the Memorial Shoot |
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| Theta Chapter created the
scholarship in Steve’s memory in 1992. The initial fund
balance was created by donations from the chapter, family
and close friends. For 10 years, the scholarship relied on
donations to grow the balance. John Nethery, a pledge
brother and life-long friend of Steve, came up with the idea
to hold a skeet shoot to raise money for the scholarship
fund. In 2002, the first skeet tournament was held at Fort
Worth Trap and Skeet Club. There were 6 teams of 5
shooters that competed. Each team member shot a round of
skeet (25 targets). The event raised $3000 in its first
year. In 2003, the event was held at the same facility with
close to the same number of participants. The 2003 event raised $5,000.
Under the direction of Stephen Nethery, John’s brother and life-long friend of Steve, and with the invaluable participation of the Chapter’s Executive Committee, the 2004 event saw a change in venue and format. A 50 target round of sporting clays replaced the 25 round of skeet. The event also moved from Fort Worth Trap and Skeet Club to Rock Creek Shooting Range. The popularity of the event along with the venue and format change brought on more participants as 60 shooters competed. The 2004 event raised over $10,000. The 2005 event doubled in size with 110 participants and raised just over $17,000. Rock Creek again hosted the 2006 event and the shoot raised over $22,000. The 2007 shoot brought in yet another change in venue as the event was held at one of our alumni’s property located just outside Fort Worth. We raised over $30,000. In order to continue to grow the event, we created a committee for the 2008 shoot. The committee consisted of six alumni and two actives with alumni, Richard King, serving as the Event Chair and leading the effort. Richard and the committee put together another successful shoot raising over $60,000 with over 200 participants. In 2009, The McDaniel Memorial Shoot raised a record $70,000. We are looking forward to the 2010 shoot and hope to raise even more money for the Stephen McDaniel Memorial Fund. The following is a list of each year’s winning team: 2009 – Colt Bearden, Nick Blake, Dennis Post, Edo Osmonovic 2008 – Richard King, Stephen Nethery, Trey Smith, Neal Owen 2007 – Todd Lucas 2006 – Richard King 2005 – Marty Markle 2004 – Marty Markle 2003 – Todd Lucas 2002 – Todd Lucas |