Ron Balsam Memorial Scholarship

Ron was the oldest of three siblings—his brother Don was the middle child, and Sue was the youngest. Ron’s great-grandparents were all born in Italy. Growing up, it was a full house—all three siblings lived with their mother and father, as well as their grandparents. They were your typical Italian family that grew their own vegetables and fruits and made their own wine. Every Sunday, the family attended church at St. Anthony’s. When Ron was younger he delivered newspapers to make money in the south side of Rockford. Living across the street from a school, they had a baseball field right across the street. All he had to do was grab a glove, bat, and ball, and someone else would always join for a game.

He was originally recruited by the University of Iowa to run track and was on a scholarship. After one year, Ron transferred to Rockford College (now Rockford University). This allowed him to letter in four sports including Tennis. He still owns the 440 record for Byers Stadium (cinder track)! This led to a coaching position in tennis and an assistant in swimming. His specialty, tennis, became his lifelong passion.

Once Ron got married, he managed to hold a few jobs all at once—he chopped wood, plowed drives, and then had his “main job” as well. He was a teacher, assistant principal, and coach of multiple sports and eventually became a loan officer and the manager of the loan department.

Ron wanted others to have the opportunity to have a sport be part of their lifelong passion. To be able to enjoy your passion while still being able to get an education was his motivation. Too many college students are burdened by the cost of education and thus end up working to supplement those costs. Hopefully, the scholarship will allow the recipient to ease the cost burden and thus allow time for sports.

Ron has two children: Jennifer, who lives in North Carolina, and David, who lives in Michigan. Together, they have four children. Nothing made him more proud than driving in to watch his grandkids participate in sports—football, track, tennis, soccer, etc. It made him so proud to see his grandkids succeed in sports and their curriculum. Education was always very important to Ron. He was a lover of cars, art, watches, playing competitive tennis and watching his kids and grandkids participate in sports.

To read more about Ron, click HERE to read a local article from the Rockford Register Star.

Ron Balsam, on the right, is pictured with Coach Rob Buelte, on the left, and his son, Finley Buelte, celebrating Rockford Christian's victory in the 2022 Class 1A sectional tennis championship.