"He was rounding first and never made it to second, which was fine because he loved softball," recalled longtime friend Roger D. Heckel.

If Theis had to go, and that young, then while playing softball or bowling, which he also enjoyed, would have been his chosen way, said Heckel, who knew the vice president and general manager of Hartman Trophies for about 30 years.

Theis was a founding and active member of the Beechcroft Lions Club.

"We felt we had to do something in his memory," said Heckel, current secretary of the Beechcroft Lions Club.

In addition to his enthusiasm for softball and bowling, Theis was, like many a central Ohioan, an avid fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes. He also was, Heckel said, a great supporter of children and a believer in education.

Putting all those interests together, the members of the Beechcroft Lions Club decided to create an annual tailgate party for an away OSU football game, with the proceeds going to a scholarship fund.

Since its inception a few years after Theis died on July 20, 1997, the Terry Theis Scholarship Fund has handed out about $30,000 in awards to students from St. Francis DeSales High School, the Northland area and among children of Lions Club members, Heckel said.

The 11th annual Terry Theis Tailgate Party will take place on the day of this year's OSU game at Purdue, which is Saturday, Oct. 17.

It will be held at Slapsie-Maxies, a neighborhood sports bar located at 1019 Mediterranean Ave. south of the Continent, beginning about an hour before the kickoff, the time of which has not yet been announced.

The cost is $15 a person, which includes beer, chicken wings, sandwiches, snacks, raffles and door prizes.

All the members of the Beechcroft Lions Club traditionally attend the tailgate party, said Heckel, as do members of other central Ohio Lions clubs.

The party continues for about an hour after the game ends.

For information on the event, call Heckel at 882-6245 or e-mail Jamie Sommerfeld at jksommerfeld@insight.rr.com or Jen Luttrell at luttrellzoo@hotmail.com.