Fundraiser held to honor Westside teacher

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) -A fundraiser was held at Hijinx on Sunday, May 21, to honor Terri Tyner, a Westside teacher who died last month.

She was a teacher at Westside and also a bowling coach. She became a bowling fan through her daughter, Chloe Tyner, leading to Tyner becoming a bowling coach.

“It was really great to have a mom as a coach because moms are very encouraging cheerleaders, coaches, you know, all those different good positive traits into one,” said Chloe Tyner.

Students coached under Tyner filled up the bowling lanes. Bowling was something they didn’t know they loved until they met Tyner.

“Whether we thought about it or not, she was the one that made it so much fun for us,” said Cole Cureton, who Tyner coached.

“Her passion for bowling was what got me and my friends into bowling. It’s the way that she carried herself and the way she carried the team,” said Easton Baldridge, also coached by Tyner.

A silent auction and a raffle also helped raise funds. When Chloe Tyner was asked how those funds would honor Terri Tyner, she knew exactly who her mother would have wanted to help.

“I mentioned a scholarship in her name because she wanted that; she cared about her students like they were her own kids,” she stated.

Tyner said the scholarship recipient will be someone who was just like her mother.

“We’re going to be looking for someone who is like a cheerleader to another student, someone who is very positive, smiling a whole lot,” she said.

Organizers said the fundraiser raised over $2,000. Shortly after the announcement, they said an anonymous donor donated an additional amount, bringing the funds up to $4,000.

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