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Midland's Legacy Scholarship Program • Introduction

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"Midland's Legacy Scholarship Program" is built on the legacy left by four great Midland families -- George and Gladys Abell, Barney and Helen Greathouse, J. Harvey and Harriet Herd and the Clarence Scharbauer Family -- who invested their time and resources to help build a community.

 

The philosophy of these community builders will ensure that graduates of Midland County high schools will be able to continue to take advantage of an education at Midland College.

In 2003 the Abell-Hanger Foundation and the Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust joined forces to form Midland's Legacy Scholarship Program to ensure educational opportunities at Midland College continue for high school graduates in Midland County. In 2006, a third Midland family foundation, the Chaparral Foundation, joined this tradition of supporting Midland College students in their education. That tradition continues to grow to this day, with the announcement in 2011 that the Scharbauer Foundation had joined Midland's Legacy.

 

“George and Gladys Abell valued education and sought to increase and improve the opportunities for those in our community. Since it was created in 1986, the Legacy Scholarship has created numerous educational opportunities for the youth of our community. It is gratifying to find that other funders see the merits of this program and have elected to join with us in this endeavor. There may be no greater personal legacy than investing in the lives of others,” Abell-Hanger Foundation Executive Director David Smith said.

 

Dona Bradley, Vice President and Trust Officer for Wells Fargo Bank and representative for The Helen Greathouse Charitable Trust, said: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to join with Midland College and the Abell-Hanger Foundation in the Legacy Scholarship Program in 2003. We feel fortunate to continue that relationship with the addition of the Chaparral Foundation and the Herd Family.”

 

Harvey Herd said, "Harriet and I founded the Chaparral Foundation in 1997 as a way to give back to the community that has been so good to us. We have always had an interest in supporting education — particularly through scholarships.”

 

“The Herd Family has long been advocates of education, so it is not surprising that the Chaparral Foundation joins the Abell-Hanger Foundation and the Greathouse Trust in investing in our young people so that they will become well educated, and in doing so, they will make their contributions to the community,” former Midland College President David E. Daniel said.

 

The Scharbauer influence in Midland and West Texas dates to the late 1800s when the pioneer Scharbauer family settled in the vast "Midland Country" and became steeped in ranching, and later in petroleum and community-building.