The Fulton Homes Foundation efforts focus on children, water safety, animal safety, and youth education among other areas. The team at Fulton Homes also believes that bricks and cement may create a home’s foundation, but honesty and character build a solid foundation for young adults. Programs such as Character Counts recognize and reward middle and high school student athletes who demonstrate outstanding character and good sportsmanship.
The Tempe-based homebuilder partners with KTAR Sports Radio 620 for the Fulton Homes Character Counts program. KTAR listeners are encouraged to nominate a 12- to 17-year-old student athlete who has exhibited character. Beginning in November and continuing through April, one winner from all of the nominees will be chosen each month to win a $100 gift certificate to Sports Authority. Each monthly winner – or “Good Sport” – will be interviewed on video by Ron Wolfley, and is featured both on-air and online.
At the end of the school year a celebratory banquet will is held for the top 12 finalists who exemplified true character and good sportsmanship, and one athlete will be awarded a $5,000 scholarship courtesy of Fulton Homes.
This Year’s winner was Reid Maurice, who will be starting his senior year at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix. Maurice, who plays on the baseball team at his high school, said he trains year-round for baseball, working to continually improve as an athlete.
The summer before his junior year, Reid and his 21-year-old brother, Ethan, rode their bicycles across the country to raise money for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The two brothers pedaled from Virginia to Oregon and raised $96,000 for the hospital. Maurice said they chose PCH because Ethan was treated there four years prior for a life-threatening illness.
“Character is not something a person is born with; we must take responsibility to form and mold it,” Doug Fulton, Fulton Homes CEO, said. “This program acknowledges the many young adults in our community who are excelling in both sports and in their own lives. Fulton Homes is proud to recognize good character in our young adults and the outstanding model of character they are exhibiting for others.”