Lift - 2012 Annual Report on Philanthropy - (Page 20)

Embry-Riddle’s first cadet gives back Chuck and Liz Graf create safety net for future cadets with planned gift By an th on y B r ow n give them a safety net that wasn’t there before and hopefully create those turning points that meant so much to us.” Working Without a net s the very first cadet to enroll in EmbryRiddle’s Air Force ROTC program, retired Col. Chuck Graf (‘75, DB) has a special place in his heart for what has become the largest university Air Force ROTC Detachment in the nation. Not because he was first, but because the program gave him and Liz, his highschool sweetheart and wife of 39 years, an opportunity for a better life. It’s that kind of turning point that Chuck and Liz hope to create for other deserving Air Force ROTC students with their planned gift to Embry-Riddle. By designating EmbryRiddle as the beneficiary of their donor advised fund, they will create a needsbased scholarship for AFROTC students (with a preference for graduates from their alma mater, Seabreeze High School in Ormond Beach, Fla.) who show great leadership qualities but might need financial help to continue their studies. “There are a lot of great potential leaders out there who, for various reasons, might not have the highest grades, but have the ability and potential to do great things,” Chuck explains. “We want to help them stay in school and be successful in their careers. It will Chuck and Liz know first-hand what it’s like to operate without a safety net. In 1971, they were admittedly “pretty poor,” but they were young, in love, and determined to do better for themselves and the family they hoped for. “We both came from a tough home environment,” Chuck recalls. “We just decided we were going to be together and get married and do our best to have a better life.” Having a better life meant first and foremost getting an education, but there were concerns. After joining the Aero Club at Seabreeze High School and seeing the Embry-Riddle campus—at the time just a couple of buildings and an old World War II flight hangar—Chuck knew he wanted to go to Embry-Riddle, but his grades by his own account “weren’t so good.” “Until I met Liz, I just didn’t have much focus or drive,” Chuck says. 20 p h i l a nth r o py r e p o rt g i v i n gto.E R A U.E d U Tony Giese Photography http://www.givingto.erau.edu

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Lift - 2012 Annual Report on Philanthropy

Lift - 2012 Annual Report on Philanthropy
Contents
Letter From the President
Letter From the Associate Vice President
Fiscal Year 2012 Financial Report
Throttling up
Lifetime and Legacy Donors
Toward an entrepreneurial university
Corporations and foundations
Student projects take off with Rockwell Collins
Daytona Beach alumni
Part of the Embry-Riddle fabric
Embry-Riddle’s first cadet gives back
Students help create a culture of philanthropy
Prescott alumni
Worldwide alumni
Military support
Friends
Board members, faculty and staff
Perpetuating dreams
Scholarship Donors
In Memoriam Donors
Endowed Funds

Lift - 2012 Annual Report on Philanthropy