A former Greenville couple’s grandson and baseball standout is being honored and remembered by his fellow athletes.

Holt Rowland, 16, the grandson of retired Liberty National insurance agent Don Ganus and his wife, Barbara, now of Blackshear, Ga., was killed in a tragic car accident in Blackshear last November.

According to an article dated December 22, 2010 in the Andalusia Star News, “Fund honors memory of grandson,” the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has established a fund in Holt’s name to provide scholarships to other baseball players interested in participating in missionary efforts in the Dominican Republic.

Last summer, Holt traveled with 100 other coaches, players and parents to the Dominican Republic on a FCA trip that used the sport as a platform to lead people to Christ.

Holt’s parents, Dave and Kim Ganus Rowland of Blackshear, are quoted in the article as saying the trip “forever changed” their son, with his FCA coach adding, “I don’t know that I’ve ever known a kid as mature in his faith as Holt. He wasn’t shy about his faith at any level.”

A former Milwaukee Braves baseball player, Ganus and his family came to Greenville in connection with his work with Liberty National, family friend Steve McGee of Greenville said.

“Many Greenville residents remember Don and Barbara and their daughters, Kim and Sandi,” McGee said. McGee said Don Ganus was particularly well known during his time in Greenville for his ability to play golf both right and left-handed equally well.

A current Greenville connection to the Ganus family is Kevin Sport, a local businessman and entertainer who is married to Holt’s maternal aunt, Sandi.

Anyone wishing to donate to the memorial scholarship fund in Holt’s honor are to mail their donations to: FCA Baseball, 525 W. Magnolia Circle, Alpharetta, GA 30005.

“Local athletes are certainly welcome to participate in the same sort of FCA mission trip that made such a strong impression on Holt,” said McGee.

More information is available at www.atlantafcabaseball.org.