|
|
|
Community News
St. Louis Front Page Community Info P. O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 www.slfp.com Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com Please e-mail advertising@slfp.com or call 314-771-0200 for information or questions about advertising opportunities in the Community Section.  |
 |
GenAmerica Foundation Donates $24,000 to Missouri Colleges Fund for Scholarships
by Bob Moore, SLFP.com Kevin C. Eichner, president and CEO of GenAmerica Financial Corporation, stated that GenAmerica had enjoyed a strong relationship with the Missouri Colleges Fund (MCF) over the past 40 years. "The Fund is a consortium of twelve independent liberal arts colleges and universities. The mission of MCF is to acquire the necessary resources to educate today's students and tomorrow's leadership positions," said Eichner. Eichner was by joined by Larry W. Schepker, president of the non-profit Missouri College Fund (MCF) and presidents of several independent MIssouri colleges, local business and academic leaders and scholarship recipients at a gala celebration at the company's headquarters in downtown St. Louis. Eichner commented that he had a strong personal interest in higher education. "I was educated in my undergraduate years at Ottawa University, which is an institution very similar to the ones we are supporting here." Eichner has served on the board of Ottawa University since 1984 and has been chairman of the board of trustees for the past five years. "Ottawa gave me a lifelong love for learning and definitely enhanced my critical thinking skills which, believe me, come in handy in my role today," he added. He observed that his education at a small private university gave him a strong sense of service to the community. "Some students will enjoy similar experiences as result of these scholarships and turn their passion for learning and service into a career in teaching itself," Eichner said. "It is estimated now that 35 percent of Missouri's elementary and secondary teachers will retire within the next five years at the very time when students populations are growing. Urban and rural classrooms are overcrowded and local school districts are reporting critical shortages of credentialed and capable school teachers," he said. "At GenAmerica, we build our business everyday with great partners. With the Missouri Colleges Fund, we found another great partner with an essential mission and a firm commitment to educating tomorrow's leaders. That's good for society and very good for business," concluded Eichner in his remarks to the group. Leslie Jasper, a business administration major Fontbonne College, has a scholarship through this fund. "It gave me more initiative in all my classes to push harder to make the grade. It lifts some of the financial burden that you have on your parents." Another fontbonne student attending the event, Kortney Hawkins, stated that she is a mathematics major studying to be an architect. "It's a good background and I love to draw buildings and wanted to give back to the community. I come from a single parent family and was struggling to get the money," she said. Both students applied for the scholarships through the Financial Aid Office at Fontbonne College. After the check presentation, Eichner told SLFP.com that higher education is more critical than ever before. "These particular kinds of institutions, which don't get all the press and publicity that so many of the larger ones do, perform an incredibly invaluable service for students. They have wonderful experiences there and many of the leaders of this community and others have come out of this kind of institutions. So we really want to support it, especially in the teacher education area which is a major league shortage right now in Missouri."  Archived Stories:  Actor and Activist James Olmos Speaks About Life ExperiencesCITY 16 Begins Airing Spanish Language Show 'Ahora San Luis' The SLFP.com - Community Info is presented in conjunction with the St. Louis Front Page and Southwest Illinois News. The sites are owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan St. Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group . |
|
 www.slfp.com |
