Dec. 01--Paul Provas spent more than 30 seasons as a scout for the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, but his loyalty to Johnson County Community College in Kansas never wavered.
Provas, who passed away in October of 2014 after a bout with brain cancer, set up a memorial scholarship fund at JCCC in Overland Park, where he played and stayed in contact with the baseball program.
"It touched us," said Kate Allen, Associate Vice President for Advancement at JCCC. "His memory lives on."
The school held a ceremony on Oct. 27, with the school donating a bench (with Provas' name engraved) and tree next to the baseball field. Numerous scouts and officials from several teams -- including the Kansas City Royals, who played Game 1 of the World Series that evening -- attended the ceremony.
"It means a lot to us that Paul wanted to do something for us, and that scores of people contributed," Allen said.
Provas served as an area scout for the Cubs from 1983 to 1992 before working with the Sox the following season and serving in several scouting roles.
Provas was elected to the Texas and Midwest Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame in 2011.
For more information on donations, http://www.jccc.edu/foundation/.
