Not surprisingly the Butler County community stepped up to the plate to help create a permanent scholarship at BC3 honoring Butler businessman and later-in-life politician, Dale Pinkerton.

Seeing Dale’s wife Millie Pinkerton on Sunday morning, we discussed the success of the campaign and the soon-to-be reached magic number of $50,000.

One of our first emails on Monday verified that in fact the scholarship drive had exceeded $54,000 and now was the most successful campaign, funded by community gifts, ever done at BC3.

Other individuals have established scholarships and given large amounts to establish them, but the Dale Pinkerton Leadership Scholarship is the first one built through community donations to exceed the $50,000 mark, and it will most likely continue to grow.

Truly a tribute to the memory of one of Butler’s most colorful and appreciated public servants.

Dale was known to many of us as a tireless (pun intended) worker for the less fortunate long before dedicating eight years to public life as a county commissioner and enduring the public ridicule that comes with serving in such a role.

His love of the community is now being returned by his friends, family and co-workers through the monetary gifts to BC3.

Dale would most certainly be proud and humbled by the response of the community, and as Millie stood by beaming, he would surely say “this is Fantastic.”