FAYETTEVILLE EVENING LIONS ESTABLISH SCHOLARSHIP AT UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Fayetteville Evening Lions Club has provided $60,000 to establish a scholarship endowment at the University of Arkansas.

The Fayetteville Evening Lions Club Endowed Scholarship will provide financial assistance to students at the University of Arkansas who are residents of Washington County or are physically handicapped.

"We are just thrilled that the Fayetteville Evening Lions made this gift to establish a scholarship endowment," G. David Gearhart, vice chancellor for University Advancement said. "The Lions Club has been a supporter of the University in many ways over the years. This gift is special not only for the financial support it will provide to students, but because it shows how service organizations are able to support one another."

The Lions Club gift is given as a part of the University’s Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. Having been kicked off on Oct. 26, the Campaign aims to raise $500 million in gifts from private sources by June 30, 2004. Campaign funds are being used to help the University achieve its vision of emerging as a nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world. Accordingly, funds and are being raised for six critical areas of need: endowed faculty positions, scholarship funds, academic programs, University Libraries, new and improved University facilities support and annual giving.

Porter Stone, a University of Arkansas industrial engineering professor emeritus who also serves as treasurer for the Fayetteville Evening Lions Club, said that the club has been accumulating funds for scholarships for the past 20 years that he has been a member.

"The club has been giving approximately $6,000 in scholarship awards annually and decided that it would be better to give the lump sum to the University of Arkansas than to try to continue to manage the funds ourselves," Stone said.

The Lions Club earns its funds in several ways including gifts made in memory of deceased Lions Club members. The major Club support comes from the sale of Christmas trees, an annual service, and from taking tickets and ushering athletic events at the University of Arkansas athletic events at which they earn nearly $15,000 a year.

"The money came from the University so we wanted to give it back to the University," Stone said.

The Fayetteville Lions Club, organized in 1962, serves the community in benevolent and service projects contributing to improving the quality of life in the community. Originally, emphasis was given to sight conservation, purchase of glasses for persons in need of assistance, to the Arkansas Eye and Kidney Bank, as well as other projects of community interest.

Real Vachon, Lions Club president, said, "Lions Clubs are regional in scope by nature; therefore we try to limit our support to the Washington County area, but our main concern with this scholarship endowment is helping students in need."

In 1985, the club chose scholarship assistance as their service area to address the needs of single parents and other non-traditional students. Then-president Lloyd Warren — with a committee composed of John Bowers, Paul Clark, Gary Hampton, Bobby Hughy and Paul Long — developed eligibility criteria for applicants as well as guidelines for the implementation of the program.

The first award was made in 1988 for $500. Since then the program has grown and between three and five scholarships are awarded each semester. During the 13-year history of the program, the Fayetteville Evening Lions have awarded $53,473.50 in financial aid to 36 individuals. The recipients of these awards are students who have majored education, engineering, pre-med, medical school, nursing, pre-ministerial, home economics and home economics education.