This petition is to name the high school field in Kemp, TX in remembrance of Dallas Fire and Rescue Officer Scott Tanksley who tragically lost his life in the line of duty on February 10, 2014 while operating on an icy overpass in Dallas, Texas. Tanksley was a 14 year veteran of the department. He leaves behind a wife and three children between the ages 4-12. Scott grew up in Kemp playing baseball and graduated in 1992.

Tanksley played parts of three years in the Minnesota Twins minor league system. The Twins drafted him in the 22nd round of the 1995 amateur draft out of Mississippi State University, a perennial college baseball powerhouse. Former Texas Ranger Will Clark and current Ranger first baseman Mitch Moreland both played for the Bulldogs. After Scotts brief professional baseball career ended, he went back to a quiet life in his rural hometown of Kemp, joined Dallas Fire-Rescue and started a family.

Tanksley coached his son in Little League. The boy and Tanksley’s daughter attend Kemp ISD schools, where Tanksley’s mother and his wife, Wendi, used to work. The couple would have soon celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary.