The Jeffrey T. Hayden Memorial Award was established in October of 2004 at Lakota Ridge Jr. High School in West Chester, Ohio. The schools principal, Mr. Ed Rudder, counselor Susan Fraley and athletic director Douglas Carlberg, along with the staff at Ridge Jr. have been instrumental in creating and promoting this award, which will be presented annually at the school’s Fall Sports Award Banquet. The award is open to all 7th and 8th grade students that participate in a fall sport. Student athletes are nominated by their coaches and a final decision is made by a selection committee.

Recipients of this award will be someone who exemplifies the special characteristics of Jeff, who is a good friend to others, who works hard in practice and on game day, and most of all, excels in the classroom. Also, the recipient of this award is someone who is a positive influence and who displays courage in the face of adversity. The recipient will receive an individual plaque and their name will be engraved on a permanent plaque that will hang in the school. The inscription on the award was actually written by Jeff and it says…

“Never Give Up. Set goals that seem impossible,
with perseverance you can see how easy they are to achieve.”

2007 Award Recipients - Jason DeFevers and Rachel Huxhold

2006 Award Recipients - Annie Morgan and Brogan Hill

2005 Award Recipient - Josh Freson

2004 Award Recipient - Paige Foster