The Christopher Ratliff Memorial Scholarship Foundation is a non-profit organization that was established in 2010 in honor of Christopher James Ratliff. Chris was a star athlete at Pflugerville High School until he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2001. Throughout his 9 year battle, Chris remained very positive and always kept a smile on his face. He brought joy to the lives of t
hose who knew him, and became an inspiration to some that didn't. In June of 2010, Chris lost his battle with cancer after some complications with a bone marrow transplant began to take a toll on his body. The Ratliff family decided to use the money that Chris had saved for his own college education to help further another young adult's college career. With that, a tradition was born with an attached scholarship to the Fighting Heart Award that Christopher won from the Plugerville Panther Athletic department. Since then, a memorial golf tournament has been established in Chris' honor at Blackhawk Country Club, a course that Chris once worked at during his summers in Pflugerville, Tx. The money that is raised at this annual tournament continues to help young men and women who exhibit Christopher's desire to succeed and even some of his more quirky qualities. These scholarship recipients are required to complete a very unique application that helps the Ratliff family see past the standard academic qualities of a student and into more of the qualities that makes each applicant who they are as a person. It's there that the family sees the traits of their beloved Christopher and how he impacted those around him, and its those traits that they hope to support. The Christopher Ratliff Memorial Scholarship Foundation continues to impact the lives of Pflugerville High School students every year by offering this scholarship while also allowing Chris' legacy to live on through each recipient in hopes to one day find the cure to cancer that might just be tapped inside the mind of someone who couldn't afford an education.
