Michael Bushnell 
Publisher

Over 200 shooters turned out on a stormy Saturday morning at Powder Creek Shooting Park in Lenexa, Kan., for the 8th Annual John V. Mesh Sporting Clays Shoot, a fundraiser for the John V. Mesh Memorial Scholarship. 

Named for Northeast native firefighter John Mesh, the event raises funds for scholarships that pay tuition for students pursuing degrees in the outdoors field, such as conservation or environmental sciences.

Mesh, along with firefighter Larry Leggio, died while fighting an arson fire at 2600 Independence Ave. on October 12, 2015. The scholarship fund was created by John’s brother Jim and fellow firefighter John Sirna, who worked with John at Station 10 at 9th & The Paseo.

This year’s $25,000 scholarship was awarded to Jordan Barth of Torrington, Wy. Barth is pursuing a degree in Wildlife Management Biology at Eastern Wyoming College.

“All these guys coming out on a rainy, stormy morning to honor John and be a part of this event is just humbling in so many ways,” said Jim Mesh, John’s older brother. “John’s looking down right now laughing at all of us out here, standing in the pouring rain, shooting clay pigeons. His spirit lives on in this event.”