Fulfords donate $1.5 million to build new UWG stadium
December 22, 2005
The University of West Georgia announced the first major gift toward
construction of a football stadium for the school. Ray Fulford, CEO of
Ra-Lin & Associates, Inc., and his wife Linda, made the announcement
of their gift at the company’s Christmas party and presented the
first installment of their gift to David Parkman, chief development officer
for the stadium project.
The University of West Georgia is seeking to raise $10 million to fund the construction of a 9,000-seat stadium as the anchor for a multi-sport athletics complex. UWG re-instated football in 1981 after a 24-year absence from the sport and has since been using Carrollton High School’s Grisham Stadium for its home games. Students, alumni and fans have expressed a strong desire for many years for the University to have its own facility on campus.
The Fulfords have pledged $1.5 million in support of the project.
University of West Georgia President Beheruz N. Sethna announced in 2004 the University’s desire to construct a stadium on property contiguous to the campus. The proposed athletics complex will include the football stadium as well as a soccer stadium, varsity softball field, a multi-field softball complex, football and soccer practice fields and other fields for intramural sports usage. State money is not available for athletics purposes; therefore, a private fundraising effort for the project was launched late this fall.
Parkman, who retired from UWG as the Vice President for University Advancement in 2003, is leading the fundraising effort. He serves as chair of the Stadium Development Committee that was formed last summer to begin the campaign to raise the funds for the stadium as well as a 750-seat soccer stadium and a softball field.
Other members of the Stadium Development Committee include Fulford, Ben Garrett, president of Ra-Lin & Associates, Inc.; Roy Denney, president of Southern Architects and Engineers; Ken Pritchard, also of Southern A&E; Jim Gill of Citizens Bank and Trust; Bob Stone, president of Systems and Methods, Inc.; Tommy Greer, Tisinger, Tisinger, Vance and Greer law firm; Mike Renfrow, assistant vice president for campus planning and facilities at UWG; and Ed Murphy, UWG director of athletics.
Fulford said that when the stadium project was presented to him, “I knew that I should be involved and that this project would add to the already successful academic program at UWG. With the probability of having 15,000 students on campus in the future, the new stadium will help the students of tomorrow have a more complete college experience. It will also enhance our student athlete recruitment as well as position the university for growth and expansion of its athletics program in the years to come.
“The gift will guarantee a first class facility will be built which will serve all our college community. It will also provide a tremendous economic boost to the west Georgia and east Alabama area. It is our opportunity to share with the community some of the success our company has experienced over the past 40 years, due in part to the support we’ve received from friends in this area.”
Fulford added that his family “swells with pride when giving this gift to the community we call home. Our hope is that others who have had their own successes will step forward and help fund this effort.”
Sethna said, “We at UWG are extremely grateful to Ray and Linda for their very generous leadership gift to the stadium. The presence of a first-class stadium will help attract football players and other students and supporters of football to UWG.
“In addition to the direct impact on football, this stadium will have other significant benefits for our campus as well. As most people know, I am a strong supporter of initiatives for community development, for the building of school spirit, and for the retention of a vibrant student presence through the weekends. Experiences of other campuses indicate that all these positive results are likely to accrue.”
For more information on the stadium fundraising campaign, contact Dr. Andrew Leavitt, Associate VP for Development and Alumni Services, at 678-839-6582 or via email at aleavitt@westga.edu.
