Hildreth
By Sean Hildreth
Guest Opinion
The Brown County Community Foundation (BCCF) is a crucial part of the educational journey of many Brown County students. Since the inception of the Foundation 30 years ago, supporting the community through scholarships has been an integral part of their work.
The first BCCF endowment was opened by the late Michael O’Hara in 1994 to honor the only Brown County casualty in the Vietnam War, Larry C. Banks.
In the fall of 1993, O’Hara was told that the Foundation was being formed.
“It was just a match made in heaven,” O’Hara said.
“We needed somebody to manage the scholarship, and they needed an account. It really worked out for us. The timing was just perfect.”
The Larry C. Banks Bronze Star Memorial Scholarship Fund was created and still exists today. providing scholarships to graduates of Brown County High School who pursue vocational education or a two- to four-year degree.
BCCF’s scholarship program consists of a variety of scholarship funds established by donors to help students in Brown County further their education.
A list of all the scholarship funds can be found on the website browncountygives.org.
Students who meet the eligibility requirements of these scholarships may apply to the program and, if eligible, may be awarded a scholarship from one or more different funds.
This process happens annually with the support of a committee of volunteers at BCCF. Currently, the scholarship committee is in the process of reviewing the 2023 Community Scholarship applications and will announce the winners this spring.
Additionally, through BCCF’s affiliation with The Lilly Endowment Inc., 41 Brown County residents have received four-year full-tuition scholarships through the Endowment’s Community Scholars Program. In addition, to the great contributions they each make in their professional lives, two of these winners have recently become volunteers for BCCF.
Before receiving the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in 2005, Brown County Schools Director of Technology and BCCF Board member David Phelps knew that he wanted to enroll in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
“I would have most likely not been able to go to Rose,” he reminisces, talking of how the Lilly Scholarship changed his trajectory. The scholarship strengthened him financially and encouraged him as he pursued his dreams.
“The scholarship gave me something to hang on to,” he said.
Terran Marks received the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in 2003.
“Looking back on it after 20 years, the BCCF Lilly Scholarship has had the single biggest impact on my life,” he said. He is the owner of Brown County Forge, a blacksmithing company that specializes in hands-on classes and home hardware.
“Growing up in a limited income, single parent, household my options to fund a college education were limited to applying for scholarships or taking out a large loan. Witnessing the effects of debt as a child, I developed an ‘allergy’ to the concept,” said Marks.
With a successful academic career and an excellent application, Marks was able to secure a future free of debt.
“Without the weight and stress of tuition debt, I was able to pursue wilder, more expansive dreams and experience more of the world outside of Brown County before ultimately moving back to the area.”
Marks served in the United States Forest Service as a wildland firefighter from 2010 to 2015. He then returned to the area to establish his business in 2015. Terran volunteers as a panelist for the Indiana Arts Commission Region 8 annual grant cycle through the BCCF’s work as the Regional Arts Partner.
BCCF is committed to helping the students of Brown County pursue a variety of degrees and professions. For example, the Mary Roberts scholarship was created in recent months in memory of her service to the community.
When the first scholarship is awarded in 2024, it will support Brown County High School students pursuing a degree in social work, the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), or early childhood development/education.
As BCCF continues to build new scholarships, their endowment will grow and provide deep financial impact for the diverse educational needs of local students. Thanks to local donors who make the scholarships possible, BCCF is helping to educate students for a better future.
The Brown County Community Foundation has the best interests of the community at heart, distributing over $1.7 million in grants and scholarships to the Brown County community in 2022.
By supporting charitable organizations in broad areas of community need — education, social services, housing, health care, arts and humanities, and the environment — we help build a stronger, healthier Brown County. Learn more by visiting browncountygives.org.
Sean Hildreth is the marketing, communications and outreach officer for the Brown County Community Foundation. By supporting charitable organizations in broad areas of community need — education, social services, health care, arts and humanities, and environment — the BCCF helps build a stronger, healthier Brown County. If you have any questions, please contact us at 812-988-4882.
