September 13, 2001

Western To Host Scholarship Event On Sept. 20

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University will host its inaugural Scholarship Donors and Student Recipients Reception on Sept. 20 at Van Meter Auditorium. This event is designed to give donors of the 330 endowed scholarships at Western the chance to meet the students receiving the scholarships.

The Scholarship Donors and Student Recipients Reception is the first event of its type that encompasses all of the endowed scholarships at Western. "This is an outstanding opportunity to allow scholarship recipients to appropriately express their appreciation in a personal way to the individuals who have generously shared their resources to make the scholarship possible," said Alex Downing, president of the College Heights Foundation.

During the program, Lester Reeves of Panama City Beach, Fla., will share why he chose to create the "Dorothy and Lester Reeves Scholarship Fund" at Western. "We felt an obligation to give back to the community and Western is an important part of that," Reeves said.

The Reeveses created the fund in 1973 with the College Heights Foundation, one of the three foundations at WKU. Lester Reeves and his brother, Garland, each decided to give back to Western in the form of scholarships. "We decided that if we were ever able to help someone receive an education, we would," Lester Reeves said.

According to Tom Hiles, WKU's vice president for Institutional Advancement, this event was created to honor and recognize those who have established endowed scholarships.

"This event represents a small way for the Western family, and particularly the student beneficiaries, to say thank you," he said. "I have attended these events at other institutions, and there is something magical that happens when you match up scholarship donors with their recipients."

The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and will also include remarks from scholarship recipients, WKU President Gary Ransdel, and Dr. Dero Downing, president emeritus of the College Heights Foundation.

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