DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In April 2019, the Embry-Riddle Athletics Department launched a crowdfunding campaign to fund a memorial scholarship in honor of ERAU Athletics Hall of Famer Howard Walls Jr. The initial goal of the campaign was to raise $3,000 for a term scholarship ($1,000 per year for three years) and ultimately raise enough funds to transition the term scholarship to an endowed memorial scholarship. The campaign, spearheaded by ERAU track and field alum and Walls' former teammate Chris Harter, raised $1,000 in less than an hour and within 48 hours the initial $3,000 goal was reached. 
 
"Howard was somebody everybody liked, but not because he was a great athlete, but because he was a great person," Harter said. "He motivated and encouraged every teammate he was around and every athlete he coached. Former teammates and I feel that Howard's name is one the track program should hear on a daily basis because he possessed the qualities of an All-American on and off the track."
 
Walls not only impacted his teammates, but also the people he worked with at Allegiant Airlines where he rose to be the Director of Quality, Compliance and Safety for Stations. The campaign continued to generate support from Walls' former teammates and co-workers at Allegiant and quickly eclipsed the $8000 mark. 
 
When Allegiant learned of the scholarship in Walls' honor they contacted ERAU Director of Athletic Development Matt Wilson about matching any donations to the scholarship made by the airline's employees. After further discussion between Wilson and Allegiant's Vice President of Stations Keny Wilper and Managing Director of Corporate Communications Hilarie Grey, Allegiant pledged $10,000 toward the campaign.
 
"We were incredibly moved by the university's campaign to establish a scholarship in Howard's name, and are thrilled to be able to help ensure that his memory and achievements inspire and help others realize their own dreams of careers in aviation," Grey said on behalf of Allegiant.
 
The Allegiant Airlines gift along with a gift from the Walls family helped launch the Howard Walls Jr. Track & Field Endowed Memorial Scholarship. To date, this campaign has created both a term scholarship and an endowed memorial scholarship in Walls' honor with donations totaling over $28,000.
 
"We have been blown away by the outpouring of support from Howard's teammates, friends, coworkers, and family since this campaign started," Wilson commented. "This campaign is a small representation of the impact Howard had on so many people throughout his life. The endowed memorial scholarship will help ensure Howard's legacy lives on in the future generations of ERAU Track & Field student-athletes and ERAU Athletics."
 
To be eligible for the scholarship, a student-athlete must be a full-time graduate or undergraduate student at Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus with a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA pursuing a career in aviation and be a current member of the ERAU men's or women's track and field team.
 
Walls competed for ERAU's track and field team from 2005-10 and was inducted into the ERAU Athletics Hall of Fame on January 19, 2019. In his freshman campaign, Walls became the first ERAU Men's Track and Field student-athlete to earn All-America honors with his fifth-place finish in the 60m hurdles at the NAIA Indoor National Championships. He repeated as an All-American in that event in 2008 and 2009, setting the ERAU record of 8.08 in a third-place finish in his senior year.
 
Walls also achieved All-America status in the 110m hurdles after finishing fifth at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships in 2010. He set a school record in the 110m hurdles of 14.11 in 2008 and that mark still stands as an Embry-Riddle best.
 
After exhausting his eligibility, Walls remained involved with the ERAU Track & Field program as a graduate assistant coach, working primarily with the hurdlers. He helped Breanna Goring, Alex Dori and Crystal Bardge hit national championship qualifying marks, and played a role in Bardge winning national titles in both the indoor 60m hurdles and the 100m outdoor hurdles.
 
Originally from Augusta, Georgia, Walls earned his undergraduate degree in Aeronautical Science in 2010 and completed his master's degree in Aviation in 2012. His life was tragically cut short by a motorcycle accident in 2018.