The UCA Foundation recently announced a gift valued at approximately $550,000 from Bobbie Garner Floyd of Conway in memory of her late husband, John M. Garner. The donation is a combination of a cash gift and a planned charitable remainder trust.
The John M. Garner and Bobbie Garner Floyd Scholarship Fund will fund scholarships for students with a preference for students from Wynne High School and Cross County High School, or from high schools in the following Delta counties: Greene, Poinsett, St. Francis and Woodruff.
John and Bobbie graduated from UCA, then Arkansas State Teachers College. Both earned bachelor?s degrees in 1965, and she earned a master?s degree in 1974.
John was an entrepreneur in housing and real estate in northeast Arkansas. He passed away in 2003. Bobbie retired in 1995 after a 27-year career as an extension home economist with the University of Arkansas working in Wynne and Cross County. After moving to Conway in 2004, she met and married Dave Floyd the following year.
Bobbie said she was inspired to make the donation after seeing news reports last year of a planned gift made to UCA by Jake and Mary Ellen White Crow. “John and I always felt strongly about education. We were the first in our families to earn college degrees, and I believe earning a higher education helped us achieve success throughout our lives,” Bobbie explained. “Seeing the impact of the Crow gift made me realize I could do something through the university that would help others and honor the memory of my late husband. I can?t think of anything better than helping someone, who might not otherwise, earn a higher education.”
“We truly appreciate the generosity of Mrs. Floyd in establishing this scholarship fund in memory of her late husband,” Vice President of Advancement and Development Kelley Erstine said. “This fund is not only a commitment to UCA, but also to students and families in the Delta region who will benefit from this financial assistance.”
The Garner/Floyd gift is also being recognized as a major contribution to UCA?s first comprehensive fundraising campaign, “New Vision, New Century: The Centennial Campaign for UCA,” which was publicly announced last fall.
To date, the campaign has raised more than $21 million for scholarships, endowments and capital projects. The goal is to raise $35 million by the end of 2009.
For more information on donating to the John M. Garner and Bobbie Garner Floyd Scholarship Fund, contact the UCA Foundation at (501) 450-5288 or toll free 1-800-981-4426.
