John Fulton, Sr. was a really good guy. Patient, empathetic and generous to a fault, he was loved by his family and friends. He grew up in Huntington, stayed to raise his family and ran an incredibly successful business out of a building in the village.
A member of Huntington High School’s Class of 1973, Mr. Fulton was proud of his long association with his alma mater. He sent his own children through the school and was often seen in the crowd at events throughout the district. When he lost his battle with multiple myeloma on August 27, 2009 at 55 years old, it was a terrible blow to his family and friends, whose hearts sank.
Huntington Class of 2019 alum Paige Lennon won this year's Fulton scholarship.
Mr. Fulton owned and operated the Huntington Pennysaver Group. As a successful businessman, he was in a position to help others in need and he never hesitated to do just that whenever he could, usually staying under the radar and preferring that no one even knew what he had done.
The John F. Fulton Foundation was created by the Fulton family to perpetuate the memory and values of a very special man who believed that young people and the schools they attend play an integral role in every community.
“My father believed in education, first and foremost,” said John Fulton, Jr. who presented the Fulton Memorial Scholarship Award on behalf of his family at the Blue Devil senior athletic awards banquet. “He stressed that education stayed with a person for their entire life. He also admired Huntington’s athletes and rarely missed a game when his three children were on Blue Devil teams. It didn’t matter where the game was, what time it was scheduled for or what the weather was like. He was there.”
This year’s $250 Fulton scholarship was presented to Paige Lennon, one of the hardest working members of Huntington High School’s Class of 2019. The teenager has already reported to the United States Military Academy at West Point for summer training as she begins life as a West Point cadet. She has been recruited to play on the women’s lacrosse team there.
Ms. Lennon captained the Blue Devil soccer, basketball and lacrosse teams, earning honors in every sport. She was a great player and a superb leader.
The Fulton Foundation made its first scholarship presentation in June 2012, recognizing Daniel Plant. The 2013 award went to John Mallouk and the 2014 scholarship was given to Christian Jamison. The 2015 award was presented to Justin Weigold. The 2016 scholarship went to Taylor Moreno, who is an All-American lacrosse goalie at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The 2017 award was presented to Ryan Stieve, who is studying at SUNY Oneonta. Last year’s scholarship went to Clayton Jamison, who is playing football at Hobart College.