Hillsdale College Honors Alumnus, Raises Scholarship Funds at 6th Annual Sporting Clays Classic
Hillsdale, Mich. – Hillsdale College hosted its annual Tom Klix Memorial Sporting Clays Classic at the John A. Halter Shooting Sports Education Center on Oct. 16. The annual sporting clays tournament was renamed after Klix, who graduated in 1975, for his commitment to Hillsdale College and to shooting sports. The event raised over $10,000 toward shotgun team scholarships.
“This tournament is fun as well as special because it honors Tom, and in a way that I’m told he would have loved — by supporting students and the civic duty to bear arms responsibly,” said Colleen McGinness, executive director of Alumni Relations, which hosted the event. “We are thankful that so many people were able to come out and support shooting sports in Tom’s memory.”
Approximately 60 shooters took part in the tournament, including Klix’s daughters, who carried a large photo of their dad with them. The winning team included Raymond Cato, Neal Fusner, Marc Kavenaugh, and Eric Whitley, who also won the special Tom Klix challenge, which took place at the Halter Center’s Tom Klix shooting station and included harder targets with special-colored clays.
The tournament took place on the Halter Center’s 22-station sporting clays course and was followed by a buffet, an awards ceremony, a silent auction, and a talk about the second amendment from History Professor David Raney, Hillsdale College’s John Anthony Halter Chair in American History, the Constitution, and the Second Amendment.
At Hillsdale, Klix, who passed away in 2019, belonged to the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and played football and baseball. He also had a passion for music and played in several bands. A group of men from the ATO fraternity joined the event in support of Klix.
Tom Rex, fellow ATO and friend of Klix, offered a memorial speech.
Photos from the event can be viewed here.
About the John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center