FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                      July 5, 2006

HANK BELCHER ENDOWS SCHOLARSHIP AT NORTHWESTERN

            Henry “Hank” Belcher, a long-time resident of the Lambert/Yewed area southwest of Cherokee, has given $100,000 to the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Foundation to establish the Henry and Ruth Walker Belcher Scholarship.

            The award will be reserved for continuing students who meet scholarship requirements and have a high financial need for assistance. First preference will be given to residents of Alfalfa County and second preference to residents of Woods County.

“We are honored that Mr. Belcher has chosen to make this very generous donation to Northwestern and to invest in the lives of our students,” said Dr. Janet Cunningham, president of Northwestern. “His generosity is appreciated by our students and the entire university community.”

“Mr. Belcher’s gift is a wonderful additional to our endowment and his scholarship will make a positive impact on many financially challenged students for decades to come,” said Allen “Skeeter” Bird, executive director of the Foundation.

            “He has demonstrated a very positive example by ensuring his hard-earned wealth stays right here in northwest Oklahoma,” Bird said. “He clearly believes in the future of Northwestern and the contribution that the university makes to the community.”

            For his gift, Belcher has been enrolled as a platinum-level member of the Foundation’s Millennium Club, a new initiative to build an additional $25 million in endowed funds for scholarships during the next 10 years. Givers can be enrolled at the platinum, gold and silver levels, which equal donations totaling $100,000, $10,000 or $1,000, respectively. The donations can be made in 10 annual installments.

Hank Belcher of Cherokee signs documents establishing the Henry and Ruth Walker Belcher Scholarship with the Northwestern Oklahoma State University Foundation. Observing are (from left) Allen “Skeeter” Bird, executive director of the Foundation; Dr. Janet Cunningham, university president; and Steve Sneary, Belcher’s grandnephew-in-law.

            Both Belcher, 93, and his late wife Ruth—they met while attending Lambert High School—were students at Northwestern in the mid-1930s. He attended one year and played basketball, but says he just “goofed off.” She attended for two years, studying speech and debate. Ruth later went back to college in the late 1950s while their son Gene was studying at Northwestern. He graduated in 1960.

            The couple was married April 12, 1936. Gene worked for Safeway in Alva, Watonga, El Reno and Cheyenne before returning to farming in 1939. He farmed until entering semi-retirement, and then ran the farm with his son. A resident of Cherokee, Gene later operated the farm for 10-12 years. Ruth was active in church work and helping with the farm.

            The Belchers used to travel quite a bit before Ruth’s death in August 2004. Hank tried fishing, but didn’t particularly like it. He now likes to play dominos, especially with his good friend Donald Coppock of Cherokee, a 1941 Northwestern graduate.

            Belcher has additional ties to Northwestern. His mother Hettie Root Belcher attended Northwestern in the early 1900s while it was still a normal school. His brother Harold is a Northwestern graduate; nephew Mark Ream, his wife Wallecia and daughter Ashlee Sneary are graduates; and his grandniece Allison Ream of Cherokee graduated just this spring with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Ashlee’s husband Steve also is a Ranger alumnus.

            Both the Roots and the Belchers are long time residents of Alfalfa County, with the Roots filing a claim in the land run of 1893 and the Belchers coming in 1905. Their stories can be found in “Our Alfalfa County Heritage,” a local book that tells the story of the county’s settlement through family histories.

            His reason for making the generous donation to the Northwestern Foundation is probably typical of the average, hard-working northwestern Oklahoma farmer:

            “I’m not using it and I can’t take it with me,” Belcher said.

-NW-

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