The Evans Scholars Foundation typically tries to place
students at
in-state schools to cut down on tuition costs. Nonetheless, it’s
quite
an expensive proposition to send some 800 kids to college each year.
In-state tuition at Indiana is about $4,000 per year, but at
Purdue,
the price is roughly $7,000 per semester—and going up all the time. The
Evans Scholars Foundation pays for this through several fundraising
programs. In
the early days, Western Golf Association officials would
pass the hat to cover
tuition costs.
Now the Par Club program has thousands of members across the
country
who contribute a minimum of $50 a year. Gordon H. Euen, the WGA’s
president from 1978-80 and now a member of its board of trustees, was
the WGA’s
scholarship chairman for four years and got the program
cranked up from some
2,000 members in the early 1970s. “I never thought
we’d see 10,000, but it
didn’t take long,” says Euen. “There are 30,000
or so members now. And when
you’ve got people contributing $100 or
$150, it adds up. It was very rewarding
for me.”
It’s also rewarding when Evans Scholars alumni step up in a
time of
need. That was the case at Indiana in the spring of 1997, when a fire
swept through the living area of the chapter house, rendering most of
the
facility unlivable. Smoke damage was heavy and the heat so intense
that trophies
and photos melted. Fortunately, no one was injured, but
suddenly some 50
students were without a place to live for the rest of
the semester. And it was
apparent their home at 1075 N. Jordan would
not
be ready in the fall, that it would have to be renovated or
rebuilt.
Insurance would cover the costs to renovate, but Western Golf
Association officials decided to see how much money they could raise.
Evans
alumni came through with more than $800,000, meaning the entire
house could be
rebuilt.
The following summer, one of the Indiana Evans Scholars was
caddying
for Davis Love III during the Chick Evans Memorial Pro-Am at the
Western Open, the annual PGA Tour event in suburban Chicago. The
tournament’s
proceeds go to the Evans Scholars Foundation. Love heard
the story about the
fire and immediately wrote a check for $2,000, with
one stipulation—that the
money be used for a television.
That fall, the house re-opened with a brand new big-screen
TV.
Perfect for repeat screenings of
“Caddyshack.”
