By Chris Spangler
The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson has exceeded its fundraising goal to establish a scholarship in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Terry Beck and his K-9 partner, “Seato.”
On Thursday, club President Jan Holewinski and Treasurer Mabel Schumacher presented a $20,005 check to Fort Atkinson Community Foundation administrator Sue Hartwick to create the Terry Beck Protective Services Scholarship.
The Kennel Club launched its fundraising effort at a virtual K-9 Veterans Day ceremony last March. Thanks to the generosity of Beck’s family and friends, the original goal of $15,000 was exceeded by $5,000.
The scholarship was created in memory of Beck, a local Marine scout dog handler, who was killed in action with his K-9 Partner, Seato, in December of 1967.
Beck and Seato also served as an inspiration for the K-9 Veterans Memorial in McCoy Park, which was dedicated in June 2017.
Recently approved by the community foundation’s board of directors, the Terry Beck Protective Services Scholarship Fund will become part of the foundation’s annual scholarship offerings. Recipients must be pursuing, or be planning to pursue, a certificate, diploma or degree in a protective services program included in the “Law, Public Safety and Security” listing by the Wisconsin Technical College System at a vocational/technical college in Wisconsin.
Ranging from criminal justice, firefighting and EMS to court reporting, security loss prevention and cybercrime investigation, the available programs may be viewed at https://www.wtcsystem.edu/programs/findyour-program/law-public-safetyand-security).
Preference will be given to students who have a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career working with protective service dogs, as well as to those who are graduates of Fort Atkinson High School.
Financial need is not required for this scholarship, but may be taken into consideration by the selection committee.
Two to five Fort Atkinson High School graduates typically enter the field of protective services each year. However, there has been no local vocational scholarship for that specific field until now.
“We have approximately 40 scholarship funds and the Terry Beck Protective Services Scholarship is our newest one. We’re very proud of this,” Hartwick said. “It’s a nice match to the K-9 memorial honoring Terry Beck.”
She complimented Schumacher’s efforts on behalf of the club to raise the funds.
“It’s going to a scholarship for vo-tech students, graduates of Fort Atkinson High School, former graduates and residents of Fort Atkinson who are pursuing some sort of certificate or diploma or degree in protective services,” Hartwick said.
The foundation administrator pointed out that job-wise, “there are quite a lot of things that fall under the umbrella.
“And with the referendum on the city expanding the fire service coming up, this could be a great scholarship for people who are going back to get better certification … EMTS, paramedics,” she said. “So, it’s a very timely scholarship, in addition to being a very nice thing.”
Terry Beck was born in Iowa in 1949, moving to Fort Atkinson in 1963 when his father became president of a local bank. He had been enrolled in Northwestern Military Academy in Lake Geneva, but transferred to Fort Atkinson High School for his junior and senior years.
At age 17, Beck joined the U.S. Marines and underwent both basic and dog-handling training. He was sent to Vietnam upon turning 18.
Only three months later, Beck was killed in action in Thừa Thiên Huế Province. Seato stayed by his side and also was killed.
According to Beck’s friend, Gary Wolfram, “Terry was only 17 at the time and was very military minded … it was 1967 and everyone was getting drafted. Terry wanted to do his part, so he signed up for the Marines. He was in Vietnam only three months when he and K-9 partner, Seato, were killed by a sniper.
“Terry will be memorialized as the 18-year-old who was killed with his dog … one of thousands who gave their lives as the true Americans they were,” Wolfram added.
The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson spearheaded the memorial, which was placed at McCoy Park in 2017, and now the scholarship to recognize the sacrifices of not only Beck and Seato, but those of all military and law enforcement service dogs and their handlers.
Meanwhile, persons wishing to add to the scholarship fund may do so by mailing their check, made payable to “KCFA — Terry Beck Scholarship,” to: Terry Beck Scholarship, to the Fort Atkinson Community Foundation, 244 N. Main St., Fort Atkinson, WI, 53538.
All contributions toward it are tax-deductible.
The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson Inc. is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing training classes, community service and responsible dog ownership education. Further information is available on the group’s website: www.kcfadogs.org.
Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson President Jan Holewinski, from left, and Treasurer Mabel Schumacher present a $20,005 check to Fort Atkinson Community Foundation administrator Sue Hartwick. The money will be used to create a scholarship in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Terry Beck and his K-9 partner, Seato. The check was presented Thursday at the K-9 Veterans Memorial in McCoy Park.
Photo by Chris Spangler.
A video announcing plans to establish the scholarship is here.
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