Rick Zeisig was a great friend to Dalton State College, according to David Elrod, the college’s director of institutional advancement.
“Rick loved and promoted Dalton and he promoted Dalton State College,” Elrod said.
That’s why it’s fitting, he added, that a new scholarship has been created at the college for students studying communication.
Zeisig, who worked at radio stations in Dalton, Atlanta and Chattanooga for more than 40 years and who was the press box announcer for the Dalton High School Catamounts football team for 30 years, passed away earlier this month.
“Shortly after Rick’s passing, some friends of his approached the Dalton State College Foundation to endow the Rick Zeisig Memorial Scholarship in Communication at Dalton State,” said Elrod, who is also a director of the foundation.
“Rick’s family has endorsed this special project,” Elrod said. “And we are proud to move forward with this.”
Elrod said the foundation will present the first scholarship in April.
He said the amount of the scholarship will depend upon how much money is raised to endow it.
Those interested in helping to fund the scholarship can donate online at https://daltonstate.givingfuel.com/givenow or by mail to Dalton State Foundation, 650 College Drive, Dalton, GA 30720.
Zeisig studied communications at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He received numerous awards, including three awards from the Cable Television Association of Georgia for Best Local Show in the state. He was also the inaugural recipient of the Cable Television Association of Georgia award for community service in the North Georgia area.
Zeisig was selected as the Best Local DJ in the Dalton Daily Citizen’s first Best of Northwest Georgia edition. In 2003, the Dalton City Council proclaimed a Rick Zeisig Day in honor of his accomplishments in broadcasting and his contributions to the community.
In 2022, Zeisig was recognized as a Hometown Hero by the Alzheimer’s Association Georgia Chapter and the Modern Woodmen of America for his efforts on behalf of the association.