Chandler Family Scholarship At Echo Lake
The Chandler Family Scholarship was begun in May of 1996 by Roger Chandler, a devoted Echo lake member and long-time executive with Exxon Mobil. Roger was a recipient of a Garnett newsboy scholarship in his hometown of Rochester, NY and he never forgot how much that scholarship meant to him and his subsequent successful career. He contributed a sizeable amount of Exxon Mobile stock in both 1995 and 1996 to the Caddie Scholarship Program and these were placed in a segregated account. The proceeds from this investment were to augment the NJSGA award to the top Echo Lake applicant for four years.
Unfortunately, Roger succumbed shortly thereafter to cancer. Enter...Beverly Chandler in 1997 and the original concept quickly changed. Beverly would immediately infuse enough funding each year to support $3,000 per student plus the NJSGA scholarship until the Chandler Family Scholarship was funding four students per year without touching the original stock gift. To date, eight young men have or are benefitting from this wonderful gesture.
Instrumental in developing and administrating these scholarships at Echo Lake has been John Rochford, a former club President and NJSGA trustee. John quickly involved head professional Mike Preston and Caddie Master Marty Crown, the undisputed "father figure" to many of the boys and girls who have matriculated in their caddie program. In recent years, John, in his true corporate expertise, has groomed fellow member Brian Stellar to carry on the mission.
Echo Lake has earned the deserved reputations as a "walking club." As such, the club has developed an extraordinary caddie program and was among the original six clubs to participate in the vanning of young boys and girls from the inner cities (Newark/Jersey City), affording them the opportunity to earn money and the opportunity to qualify for caddie scholarships. Unique to Echo Lake, the Preston-Crown team not only concentrated on attracting local high school kids, but also encourages support from the parents, getting to know the parents on first name basis.
The members of Echo Lake have enthusiastically embraced all facets of the caddie program, to include their consistent position in the Top 3 of contributing clubs to the Caddie Scholarship Program. They have backed this up by hosing national USGA Junior Championships on their superb Donald Ross designed layout.
Echo Lake and its membership exemplify the commitment to developing and expanding golf from its core...taking youngsters and not only introducing them to the Game, but also providing their resources in support of those opportunities. Echo Lake continues through on the vision of Roger and Beverly Chandler.
