New TTU scholarship endowment established for Putnam County students
The endowment, to be administered by the Tennessee Tech Scholarship Office, will provide scholarships to prospective or current TTU students from Putnam County. Students must have a 3.0 GPA or better to qualify.
The endowment is funded with an initial gift of $300,000 from the Cookeville Jaycees Academic Trust Foundation board of directors consisting of Cookeville chiropractor Max Atnip, banker Larry B. Garrett, banker Jim Hicks, attorney Scott Lytal, pharmacist Clarence Smith and Donnie Westbrooks, who is retired from East Tennessee Natural Gas.
“Our intention is to continue the program we began several years ago of trying to assist young men and women of Putnam County in securing an education,” said Westbrooks. “We’ve been providing scholarships through the Jaycees foundation for years. We decided to turn it over to the Tech Foundation.”
The endowment has it roots in the early 1970s, when a group of young men within the Jaycees organization in Cookeville secured a federal grant to build a 100-unit apartment complex for low- and middle-income families. Willow Park Apartments Inc. was created to manage the complex. Then in the mid-1980s, the complex was sold to a new corporation, Willow Park Partners Inc., to manage the remaining interest in the project. Proceeds from the sale were held in trust by the Cookeville Jaycees Academic Trust Foundation to provide scholarships for students attending TTU.
“This is an exciting gift for Tennessee Tech and one that will help students for generations to come,” said J. Mark Hutchins, vice president for University Advancement. “A hallmark of the Jaycees’ founding mission is community service, and this most generous scholarship gift is a great example on how civic organizations can have a meaningful impact on Tech students from Putnam County.”
For information about establishing an endowment to TTU, contact Hutchins at (931) 372-3206 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
