South Walton Utilities Remembers GM Harper With Endowed Scholarship

10/07/2003

There was always a discernable glint in Jack Harper's eyes, like the late general manager of South Walton Utility Co. knew what you were going to ask before you did.

"Jack was kind of the knowledge source, the corporate memory for the company, and tutored many of us on the operation and politics of this business " said SWU president Gen. (ret.) Bill V. Brown of Harper who died in November 2002

As a way of recognizing Harper's service to the water and waste management company, Brown said South Walton Utilities has donated $21,000 to establish the SWU/Jack Harper Scholarship Endowment through the OWCC Foundation.

"We're a service company and we have been looking at ways to provide services to our customers. We had been thinking about scholarships and thought it would be a good way to help someone in community and establish the scholarship for Jack, who was very instrumental in the well-being of the company and handling things during the area's phenomenal growth," said Brown.

Jack Harper knew about service. He was a retired U.S. Navy captain whose 30-years of service in the civil engineers spanned from World War II to the Vietnam War. A Vicksburg, Mississippi native, Harper came to SWU in 1983 as general manager and remained a fixture in South Walton as a consultant or board member until 1998. Another distinction of his service to the community was the Sandestin Lions Club where he was a charter member and later District Governor of the state for Lions International.

In funding the scholarship to OWCC, Brown said the SWU board's education committee members Jack Kent and Ken Creel, came up with an additional incentive. The student recipient of the SWU/Jack Harper Scholarship also will have the opportunity for employment at the utility company. "It will give the student a job for their two years at OWCC," said Kent.

Dr. Bob Richburg, OWCC president, lauded the SWU/Jack Harper scholarship as "one of a kind. Where else could a student receive a scholarship and a job too? This is a very generous gift and an opportunity for a student to learn."

Richburg said the scholarship makes a "strong statement about service since it is named in Jack Harper's memory. This community benefited from Jack Harper's knowledge and expertise in an essential service we all depend on--water. Now, students at OWCC will benefit from the scholarship SWU has begun."