FARMINGTON – More than 70 area student-athletes will receive scholarships this week at the fourth annual Wally D Sports Scholarship Foundation banquet, to be held Thursday at the Farmington Civic Center.
Headed by local sports media personality and longtime New Mexico high school sports official Walter Dorman, the foundation provides awards to recently graduated seniors. Nominees are voted on by an independent committee within the organization.
The event has grown significantly, both in community popularity and in the amount of financial aid allocated to student-athletes.
In its first year, the foundation awarded nearly $18,000. That number has grown annually; during Thursday’s program, more than $60,000 will be distributed among some of San Juan County’s top graduates.
“The more people that hear about it and want to be a part of it is really what helps – anything that we can give kids,” Dorman said. “Even the $400 scholarships, that’s a book or two that the kids can buy with that, and that helps them and the parents where they don’t have to pay for everything.”
In addition to sport-specific categories – where 18 top winners receive the primary scholarship and runners-up receive smaller stipends – the foundation will award additional funding to the top male and female athletes of the year.
“One of the things that we try to perfect every year is how we go about the process,” Dorman said. “We have a 10-member voting committee, and they’re not necessarily from our community, so they have to do their own due diligence.”
Once Thursday’s ceremony concludes, the foundation immediately shifts its focus to preparing for the next school year. Dorman noted that the localized nature of these awards gives area students a distinct advantage over national programs.
“Coaches from high schools get inundated with scholarships from all across the country to give kids, and too many of them just don’t apply because they figure they’re not going to get them,” Dorman said. “And so the coaches love this, too, because the students who apply have a pretty good chance of getting a scholarship from us.”
Dorman hopes to see awareness continue to spread regarding the opportunities afforded by the foundation.
“More and more student-athletes are finding out what we do,” Dorman said. “Even though this really is a sports award for the most part, there’s other criteria in there. The applicants that we get are kids that are going to be successful in life.”
Last year, Bloomfield High School’s Alivia Waite and Blake Spencer took home female and male athletes of the year prizes. In 2024, Farmington High’s Kapiolani Anitielu and Bloomfield High’s Drew Perez achieved that distinction, while Aztec’s Makayla Munoz and Bloomfield’s Ryan Sharpe took home the top prizes during the inaugural event in 2023.
Tickets are still available for the banquet, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. ahead of the 6 p.m. start time. For more information, call (505) 634-6909.