Tonya Grace
The Kentucky New Era
Hopkinsville Community College supporter Mary Ellen Lilly says she would encourage others to become supporters of education.
"It's something that lasts," said Lilly, a former Christian County extension agent and wife of prominent local farmer Henry Lilly, who died in 1996. "I think it's thinking of the next generation."
The Lillys, including Henry Lilly and his brother, George, were among the benefactors recognized during ceremonies on Thursday introducing the new Legacy Society at HCC.
The Legacy Society, according to HCC officials, will honor individuals who have made estate gifts benefiting the college. The names of six benefactors whose current gifts total $2.5 million are engraved on a plaque that hangs in the auditorium gallery; the names of other benefactors will be added as gifts are received.
Among those honored, in addition to the Lillys, were Clara E. Wheeler, Lucy George Thomas Booker, Abraham Gharavi, Jennie K. Baker and Jesse V. Keith.
The Lilly brothers established the Henry and George Lilly Educational Fund, an externally-held trust, in 1978 to provide scholarships for members of the HCC speech team and the college's "News and Views" student newspaper staff.
Mary Ellen Lilly said the fund named for her late husband and brother-in-law has provided a good number of scholarships to students attending the community college.
Additionally, the Clara E. Wheeler Memorial Scholarship Endowment was created in 1991 in honor of Wheeler, who taught business courses at HCC from 1965 to 1971.
In 1997, Booker, a Christian County native, gave a portion of her estate to the college in memory of her late husband. Both the Wheeler endowment and the Loyd W. Booker Memorial Scholarship Endowment provide scholarships for HCC students.
The Dr. Abraham Gharavi Memorial Faculty/Staff Professional Development Endowment, established in 1999, provides continuing education and career enhancement opportunities for HCC employees.
This endowment, according to a news release, was established from the estate of Gharavi, an HCC sociology and psychology professor who died in 1999.
The college received both the Baker and Keith contributions last year.
Spending distributions from the Jennie K. Baker Memorial Library Endowment, bequeathed from the estate of the former Attucks High School teacher and librarian, will benefit the HCC library.
The Jesse V. Keith Education Trust, an externally-held trust, will provide scholarships for students, enhancements to the college library and academic and instructional support to college faculty. Keith was owner of the Jesse V. Keith Agency, an insurance firm, until 1973.
All six donors of these trusts and endowments were lauded by college officials for their financial contributions to the college.
Dr. Bonnie Rogers, HCC president, noted that such gifts say much about the importance of education and also allow a "margin of excellence," filling the void to support students and the college if there is no state funding available.
"(These men and women) have invested in the future of education in our community," Rogers said. "Their gifts will be giving in perpetuity."
