Hammons Foundation Presents $125,000 Gift to Williams Baptist College
The Hammons Charitable Foundation presented Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge, Ark., last week with the $125,000 it had pledged earlier toward the new Swaim Administration Building.
The Rev. James Dean, pastor of First Baptist Church in Forrest City and a board member with the Hammons Foundation, surprised Williams president Jerol Swaim with the check last Thursday. Dean was at WBC for a luncheon with Hammons Scholars, students at the college who receive scholarships through the foundation.
"The generosity of the Hammons Charitable Foundation helped make this beautiful new administration building a reality,” said Swaim, in an announcement released by the four-year, liberal arts college. “We deeply appreciate this gift and the foundation's history of support for WBC."
According to Williams, the family room of the Admissions Office in the new building is named in honor of the Hammons Foundation. The Campus Ministries Office in the recently expanded and renovated Mabee Student Center is also named for the foundation, in honor of a $100,000 gift supporting that project.
In addition, the Hammons Foundation has awarded 150 scholarships to Williams students since 1997, with total scholarships valued at over $450,000.
The foundation is named for O.P. and Evalyn Hammons and their son, Dr. Edward P. Hammons, who all lived in Forrest City, Ark. The three worked extensively before their deaths to provide assistance for students who needed help, and the foundation has continued the work in their memory.
