Wal-Mart Supports Tusculum College 2000 Campaign with $31,000 Gift

Dr. Robert Knott, at left, accepts the gift from Gail Brown, center, and Jim Gates, right.

Jim Gates, General Manager of the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Greeneville, announced today a $31,000 gift to the Tusculum College 2000 Campaign. Funds from the gift will come from the general operating budget of the center, located in western Greene County, from the center's "Focus on Education" budget and from the Wal-Mart Foundation of Bentonville, Arkansas. The Distribution Center has also supported the College's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program.

"Since beginning operations in Greene County, we have worked hard to be an integral part of the community," said Gates. "Greene Countians have reached out to welcome the Distribution Center. They make up a high percentage of our work force and have made commitments to infrastructure that allow us to do business effectively. We are delighted to lend our support to an important Greene County institution by contributing to the Tusculum College 2000 Campaign."

Presenting the Walmart gift to Robert E. Knott, along with Jim Gates, was Gail Brown, a Tusculum College graduate, class of 1997, and an associate with the distribution center.

The Center, operating in Midway since April of 1997, is one of forty-one regional distribution centers in the United States. It serves 73 stores in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky and employs over 800.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates over 2,000 stores, including 437 Supercenters, in all fifty states, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, and Mexico.The first Wal-Mart opened in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. The company employs over 800,000 people worldwide. Wal-Mart serves more than 90 million customers weekly. Its sales in 1997 were $104 billion.

The Wal-Mart Foundation was established in 1979 by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Last year, Wal-Mart gave through the corporation and foundation together more than $81 million to charitable causes.The foundation focuses on higher education, health and welfare programs, community funds, and youth. It administers two scholarship programs for high school seniors in towns with a Wal-Mart store, awarding approximately 3,000 scholarships in 1996 to deserving high school seniors for a total of more than $8.4 million.

"We are grateful for the commitment Wal-Mart has made to the Tusculum College 2000 Campaign through the local distribution center and through its foundation," said Robert E. Knott, president of the College. "Jim Gates has been an especially effective advocate for the College, and the Wal-Mart gifts are further examples of the important support we are receiving from local individuals and businesses for our educational programs."

The Tusculum College 2000 Campaign is a $20 million comprehensive capital campaign that is providing funds for a variety of campus needs from renovations to the library and residence halls to new construction of the Niswonger Commons. To date, commitments to the campaign total over $16.2 million.