In honor of Ray's memory and his love for theater and speech the Raymond Metzger Strawberry Scholarship was created. This scholarship will celebrate Ray's beliefs in Joy, Togetherness, and Life's Adventure and celebrate current members of the Oak Lawn Theater and Speech programs who value these same ideals. Our goal is to help these students pursue their next adventure. This scholarship is open to active seniors who participate in the Oak Lawn Theater and Speech program.
It started during high school performances with a small plastic strawberry that Ray would kiss for good luck before he went on stage. The story goes that before opening night one year, he lost the strawberry. His friends who were fellow cast members saw how upset Ray was and acquired a grocery store strawberry sign as a replacement. Ray then shared his tradition of kissing the strawberry sign with the whole cast. The strawberry sign has since been lost and replaced with another token to carry on the tradition.