Jack Lane Scholarship
An annual scholarship given to a Health Promotion/ Human Development major at UWSP is a fitting tribute to a man who made important lifestyle changes in his own life. Back in the late 1970s, Jack Lane worked as a supervisor for the Soo Line Railroad in Stevens Point. To begin with, “He was not fit and trim, he smoked and was in a high-stress job,” said his friend Ron Cook, Sentry Insurance’s fitness director.
Jack and his wife, Colleen, decided to begin a jogging program over the noon hour at Sentry, where Colleen was employed. “At the time, there were a lot of student interns and on-call staff from the University’s health and fitness majors,” Ron recalls. The students advised Jack on his fitness program, which resulted in a significant weight loss. Jack and Ron soon began running together, with both men going on to complete the Octoberfest Marathon in LaCrosse. Jack’s life was cut short in 1980 due to a sudden heart attack.
Because of his special connection to the UWSP students who helped him at the fitness center, Colleen and Ron decided to start a scholarship in Jack’s memory. “In the 1980s there were very few scholarships for health and fitness majors at the University,” Ron explains. With proceeds from a fitness conference, they were able to launch the initial scholarship. Colleen and Ron became major contributors (along with friends and family members) to a revamped Jack Lane Scholarship which is now endowed for $10,000. "Jack was very dedicated to his wife and especially proud of his children,” says Ron.
“He cared deeply about the Stevens Point community and would be very pleased and honored that so many Health Promotion/Human Development students will derive benefit from a scholarship dedicated to his memory."