- Community
CONTACT: Jim J. Brewer, 806-358-2446, jimj@brex.com
COPY BY: Rana McDonald, 806-651-2129, rmcdonald@wtamu.edu
CANYON, Texas—West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler and the Buffalo Council will honor former Amarillo mayor Glen Parkey and the establishment of the Glen Parkey Scholarship for Leadership Excellence at a special scholarship lunch at noon Tuesday, June 20 at the Atrium Plaza in Amarillo.
The scholarship, established by friends and colleagues through the Buffalo Council to honor Parkey, will be awarded annually in a minimum amount of $2,500. Recipients must be classified as a junior student at WTAMU who has been accepted into the Dyke and Terry Rogers LEAD WT program. Students from Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma are eligible to apply. If the recipient meets all leadership and academic requirements of the LEAD WT program, the scholarship award will be renewed for the student’s senior year.
"Scholarships are critical to keeping the cost of higher education as low as possible and attaining a degree without a heavy debt burden," Wendler said. "We are grateful to have this endowment, honoring such an instrumental Panhandle leader and legendary Buffalo."
A leadership scholarship is a fitting tribute to Parkey. The 1960 WTAMU alumnus has worn many leadership hats throughout his long and distinguished career. He served as Amarillo’s mayor from 1987-89 and has played a key role in the development of downtown Amarillo. Parkey, founder of Sterling Properties, a commercial real estate development and management company, also served as chairman of the WTAMU Foundation Board, the Children’s Learning Centers and was the former president of the Amarillo Junior Chamber of Commerce, Amarillo Board of Economic Development and Amarillo Jaycees. In 2006, Parkey was named the Amarillo Globe-News Man of the Year.
A longtime supporter of WTAMU, Parkey chaired a drive in the early 2000s that raised $2 million for scholarships. He also helped established the University’s engineering program. He is a 1994 WTAMU Distinguished Alumni Award recipient and was inducted into the WTAMU School of Business Hall of Fame in 1998.
For more information about the Glen Parkey Scholarship for Leadership Excellence, contact the WTAMU Foundation at 806-651-2070 or the Buffalo Council at 806-358-2446.
—WTAMU—