(L to R) WCHS Athletic Director Andy Ey, Joshua Roper, Twanna Roper, Justus Roper, Ron Jordan, WCHS Head Football Coach Brent Morrison, and WCHS Principal Tom Lanier (Photo Courtesy of Jeff Clapham).
Ron M. Jordan, a 2006 Westerville Central High School (WCHS) graduate, comes from a long line of siblings and cousins who are among the school’s alumni. During WCHS’s January 31, 2020, home basketball game, Jordan presented WCHS Senior Justus Roper with the inaugural $5,000 “Jordan Family Scholarship,” which Roper plans to use to study business and entrepreneurship at the University of Akron.
Roper has been a member of the WCHS football, wrestling, and track teams. Criteria for the scholarship is based on a student’s non-athletic accomplishments, as well as an essay explaining how lessons from football can be used in life. WCHS Head Football Coach Brent Morrison said Roper earned the scholarship because of his academic success, leadership on and off the playing field, community service, and high moral character.
“Justus is a tremendous student who has done numerous community service projects at local elementary schools, has served as an official for youth sporting events, and is a terrific first recipient for this award,” Morrison said. “Ron has been extremely generous, and I think it’s absolutely amazing that he is willing to give back to our school by funding this scholarship.”
While at WCHS, Jordan was a three-year letter winner in football and track. In addition to numerous athletic honors, he also holds the distinction of being the school’s first full-ride football scholarship recipient, which led him to play Running Back for Eastern Illinois University, a Division 1 school. There he earned a Bachelor of the Arts in Corporate Communications, a minor in political science, and a championship with the Panther football team.
Jordan is Chief Executive Officer of the Jordan Restaurant Group, a minority-owned, family-based company headquartered in Westerville. The company operates several Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurants in Ohio and Michigan, and in 2018 opened Hen Quarter in Dublin, which blends southern cuisine with an upscale, modern lounge feel.
Jordan has presented to business courses at each of the Westerville City School District’s high schools and also supports the Leukemia Lymphoma Society as a means of giving back to the community. In 2017, he was inducted into the WCHS Hall of Fame, which honors those alumni who graduated at least 10 years ago, have demonstrated success in their career, and have made significant contributions to their community.