Hundreds of community members gathered at Hatters Stadium under partly sunny skies Saturday morning to put their feet to the pavement for a 3.1-mile run/walk in honor of Edward Coombs and Robert Nagel, who died in a car crash in August 2011.
Proceeds from the third annual Team EC/RN 5K, which was organized by Hatboro-Horsham High School seniors Mary Strehl, Montana Morris and Kimberly Hench and coordinated through the nonprofit Edward Taylor Coombs Foundation, will fund scholarships for local high school graduates.
Since its inception in the fall of 2011, the foundation has raised more than $80,000 that it has put back into the community. In addition to granting scholarships, the foundation has helped to fund elementary school programs in the Hatboro-Horsham School District and has sent students to leadership conferences.
“The commitment from all of you has been outstanding,” Hatboro-Horsham High School Principal Dennis Williams told the hundreds gathered on the high school’s track moments before the event began. “You are standing underneath the latest donation, which is our brand-new scoreboard.”
The ETC Foundation contributed $30,000 toward the cost of the new digital scoreboard, which, unlike its 22-year-old predecessor, is Title IX noncompliant and capable of keeping score for all sporting events. The foundation has sought to give back to the school district where Eddie Coombs, a 2010 Hatboro-Horsham High School alum and skilled lacrosse and football athlete, had called home.
The foundation was created with the goal of helping to financially support young athletes and academic all-stars who plan to attend college following high school. Several Hatboro-Horsham High School seniors will receive scholarships and will be notified of the award on June 5.
A few of the top Edward Taylor Coombs Foundation scholarship recipients will be recognized during a dinner on July 21 following the third annual Edward Taylor Coombs Foundation Golf Outing, which will be held at Commonwealth National Golf Club in Horsham Township.
Golfers have been clamoring for tickets for the popular event, which is expected to sell out, according to Eric Coombs, Edward’s father and president of the ETC Foundation. Golf outing registration, which will be handled electronically this year, will open soon.
