Korynne Blanton, West Union High School
The Young Memorial Scholarship is an academic/athletic scholarship that honors the lives of David and Mark Young.
The 2024 recipients of the Young Memorial Scholarships are North Adams High School’s Cody Hesler and West Union High School’s Korynne Blanton.
The Recipients
Graduating with Honors, Cody Hesler is ranked #1 in his class and in the 2024 North Adams High School Valedictorian. He serves as Senior Class President, National Honor Society President and BETA Club President. Cody was awarded a spot on the Southern State Community College President’s List. He was a team member of the Ohio FFA State General Livestock Team which won the state championship.
In sports, Cody was All-Ohio Track, participated in soccer, cross-country, basketball and track for four years. He holds the following records: Career Assists (Soccer), 100m Dash (Track), 400m Dash (Track), 4 x 200 Relay (Track) and 4 x 400 Relay (Track). Cody was awarded the SHAC Player of the Year in Soccer and the SHAC Athlete of the Year in Track.
Cody plans to attend Shawnee State University in the fall to pursue a degree in Middle School Education, while running on the Track Team. Cody is the son of Betsy and Rick Hesler, sibling of Beau Hesler and grandson of Tom and Debbie Putnam and Ray and Joni Hesler.
Graduating with Honors, Korynne Blanton is ranked in the Top 10 of her class at West Union High School. She received honors in academics, performing arts, student government, Spanish, and blood donation. Korynne was inducted into the West Union HS National Beta Club where she served as club Vice-President her junior year and President her senior year. She was inducted into the National Honor Society and served as Vice-President for the West Union chapter.
Participating in numerous service projects during her involvement with those prestigious clubs, Korynne also helped the community by volunteering at her church’s food pantry and youth group. She has been a part of the homecoming committee all four years of high school and prom committee for three years.
Korynne played four years of varsity volleyball, golf and cheerleading, as well as one year of track. In golf, Korynne was team captain for two years and was an All-League finisher in each of her four years, finishing in third place overall three years and second place her senior year. She was also District Honorable Mention for her sophomore, junior and senior years. Korynne also received the Academic All-Ohio Golf Athlete of The Year following her senior season. In volleyball, Korynne earned several “player of the game” awards over her four years, as well as newspaper mentions of leading her team on the court. In the course of her career, she reached the goal of 500 digs. Korynne was honored as part of the All-League team and District Honorable Mention her senior year.
In cheerleading, there were not many opportunities for individual accomplishments, but she was named team captain by her coaches for her senior year. She led her squad to an Adams County Fair championship, Brown County championship, and a SHL championship.
Korynne Blanton will continue her education at West Virginia University in the Fall, majoring in Nursing. Korynne is the daughter of Kris and Amanda Blanton, sister of Braxton Blanton, and granddaughter of Suzie and Garry Belknapp, Joyce and Wayne Hopkins and Brenda and Danny Blanton.
In Honor Of
David Young graduated from West Union High School in 1972. At WUHS, David participated in basketball and baseball. He continued his baseball career at Eastern Kentucky University where he majored in Education. David returned to Ohio where he taught Science, Health and Physical Education. He also began his coaching career, most notably basketball, where he coached at West Union, Waverly, Minford, Whiteoak and, finally, North Adams, for 23 years. David’s achievements include many SHL Coach of Years, District 14 Coach of the Years and, in 2009, Ohio Coach of the Year in Division III. David was very proud of his players, school and community. He found the most joy when his players succeeded off the court.
Mark Young graduated at West Union High School in 1978. At West Union, Mark was a tri-sport athlete in basketball, baseball and football. He excelled on the gridiron and received many offers to take his football talents to the next level. Mark, focusing on education, attended Eastern Kentucky University where he majored in Business Administration. Mark became a world traveler as he worked his way through the United States Department of Defense. When Mark passed, he was working directly with Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld and his administration. Some of Mark’s achievements include: The Army Value of Engineering Award (1991), the 2004 Quality in the Space and Defense Industries Award (NASA) and, most notably, Al Gore’s Golden Hammer Award in 1999.
Thank You
The Young Family would like to take the time to thank all those who have donated to the foundation and would like to wish the best of luck to both Korynne and Cody. Your qualities and successes are true indications on why both of you have been chosen for this scholarship.
