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Marsha and Gary Bertrand were raised in a modest, small Illinois farming community of 1,400 people. Today, the Austin, Texas, couple is committed to supporting young people in similar circumstances through gifts to their alma maters. <\/p>\n
\u201cEducation has been essential in our lives. Neither one of us could have accomplished our career goals without it,\u201d Marsha says.<\/p>\n
Marsha, who graduated in 1970 from SIU with an associate\u2019s degree in business, is a freelance writer with expertise in investment, finance, and business-related topics. Her work has been published in a variety of newspapers and magazines, and she is the author of four books: \u201cThe Consumer Guide to the Stock Market,\u201d \u201cGetting Started in Investment Clubs,\u201d \u201cA Woman\u2019s Guide to Savvy Investing\u201d and \u201cFraud! How to Protect Yourself from Schemes, Scams, and Swindles.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Marsha was in Carbondale, Gary was in the Air Force stationed in South Carolina serving our country. He enrolled at the University of South Carolina, completing courses at night toward his accounting degree. After college, Gary was in banking for 10 years, and subsequently purchased a Chicago-based company that specialized in glued magazine inserts for publications such as Time, Newsweek, and Readers Digest. He sold his company in 1994.<\/p>\n
The couple is striving to make their respective alma maters beneficiaries of their good fortune. The Bertrands recently presented SIU with $1 million to establish the Bertrand Foundation Scholarship Endowment. Awards will be presented after the endowment generates earnings (they are doing the same for University of South Carolina) and they have made provisions to support SIU through a deferred estate gift. <\/p>\n
\u201cOur scholarships are earmarked for middle-income families, which is the environment we grew up in,\u201d Gary says. \u201cSeveral scholarship programs are in place to support low-income families. And those with high income don\u2019t require such support. Marsha and I have been fortunate to enjoy success through our careers and various investments. We don\u2019t have any children, so we decided it was best to provide scholarship support for our schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bertrands, high school sweethearts who will celebrate 44 years of marriage in October, say education set the tone for their success.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had never been away from home. SIU broadened my perspective in addition to fostering independence and maturity. I became a different person,\u201d says Marsha, who subsequently earned an M.B.A. at Lake Forest School of Management in 1982. \u201cI made lifelong friends and we keep in touch. Four of us meet annually. It is special to have friends like that, and I owe it to SIU.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gary says his college experience had a similar impact on him. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe military was an eye-opener for me, and education was the difference,\u201d he says. \u201cI realized the need for a degree and it was made possible through the G.I. Bill. I wouldn\u2019t have been able to afford it otherwise. We want to pass that opportunity on to others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marsha expressed pride in her alma mater after a recent visit. \u201cOur enhanced library is beautiful and I didn\u2019t even recognize the Student Center,\u201d she says. \u201cIt is great to see my school progressing in this fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information on how to establish an endowment through the SIU Foundation, visit www.siuf.org. Also, for details regarding deferred gift options, visit our new gift planning website at: www.siufgiving.org, or e-mail: giftplanning@siuf.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Marsha and Gary Bertrand were raised in a modest, small Illinois farming community of 1,400 people. Today, the Austin, Texas, couple is committed to supporting young people in similar circumstances through gifts to their alma maters. \u201cEducation has been essential in our lives. Neither one of us could have accomplished our career goals without it,\u201d … Continue reading $1 million gift supports scholarship initiatives<\/span>