The McKinney Education Foundation (MEF) welcomes President George W. Bush for anniversary gala

April 4, 2012 - PRLog -- MCKINNEY COMMUNITY RALLIES AGAIN FOR MCKINNEY EDUCATION FOUNDATION
SOLD OUT GALA WITH PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH KEYNOTE SPEAKER
20th ANNIVERSARY GALA APRIL 21, 2012

MCKINNEY, TEXAS (APRIL 4, 2012) -   An unprecedented show of support by McKinney for The McKinney Education Foundation (MEF) will culminate at the anniversary gala April 21, 2012 featuring keynote speaker, President George W. Bush.   The gala is SOLD OUT with more than 600 guests to celebrate the 20 years of education being a top priority to McKinney residents.  Since inception, MEF has provided the following support:
•   Scholarships to over 2,800 students for a total of $4,208,655
•   Through the advisor program, students have secured an additional $44,275,542 in individual scholarships and grants
•   50% of McKinney students receive aid for college either through direct scholarships or Advisor assistance

More than ever, the MEF programs are critical to light the path to higher education for McKinney students.  The 20th anniversary offers MEF the chance to reflect back on the leaders who had the foresight to build an organization that impacts so many young people as well as their families.  The gala will celebrate the past but more importantly look forward to preparing the community to embrace the challenge of 70% of all McKinney ISD students to receive aid for a higher education. One initiative to achieve that goal is the “We Support Education,” a city-wide campaign to gain support of local businesses to invest in a Collin College Endowment which will offer two-year Collin College scholarships for MISD students.

McKinney is honored to have longtime champion of Texas education, President George W. Bush return for the third time to celebrate two extraordinary decades.  The 20th anniversary gala will take place in a transformed airplane hangar at Collin County Airport.  Steve Stoler of WFAA-TV will serve as celebrity emcee and the evening will include entertainment by Lone Star Attitude Band, luxury auction, and seated dinner.  Introducing President George W. Bush is Ambassador Linnet Frazier Deily, a native of McKinney who was appointed by President Bush as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative and Ambassador to the World Trade Organization.  The event Co-Chairs are Patti and Rudy Churner and Kathy and Phil Parker.  Kathy Parker also serves as the President of the Board of Directors for MEF.  

Taking the lead sponsorship role is Emerson Process Management Regulator Technologies as the Valedictorian ($75,000) with Heritage Eye Center as Salutatorian ($50,000) and following Summa Cum Laude ($25,000) are Chasen Publishing, Cutter Aviation, Developing Solutions, Encore Wire, Laura and Kim Eubanks, Independent Bank, Gay, McCall, Isaacks, Gordon & Roberts, P.C; McKinney Independent School District, McKinney Chamber of Commerce/City of McKinney, Pogue Family Foundation, Torchmark and Turrentine Jackson Morrow.  Cum Laude ($10,000) sponsors include AG-Power, Metro Linen and Kathy and Phil Parker.  Honor Roll ($5,000) Ace Fence Co., ACIS, Aramark, Baylor Hospital, McKinney, Ted Cantrell & Northwest Mutual Financial Group, Coserve, Darling Homes, Erickson/Perkins, Elisabeth Garrison/GenghisGrill, Hickman Animal Medical Center, Institute for Healthy Families of North Texas/Insurance Services Agency, Geralyn and Mark Kever, Medical Center of McKinney/Ernest Lynch, Nationwide Insurance, Repairmycreditnow.com, Tate Financial/Darrell Tate and Robert Mefford and Tomes Auto Group.


The McKinney Education Foundation (MEF) is a non-profit education foundation that serves four core functions: scholarships, college applications, classroom teaching enrichment and alumni relations.  It was founded in 1991 to centralize, simplify and enhance the process of raising money for and awarding scholarships to deserving graduates of the McKinney Independent School District (MISD), whether they matriculate from one of the three traditional high schools or Serenity High School.  In addition to awarding direct scholarships, MEF employs professional college advisors in each high school who assist students in preparing for higher education admissions and identifying additional individual education funding.  MEF provides classroom and professional development grants for MISD staff members to enrich their teaching methods and classroom tools and manages the McKinney Ex-Students Association (MESA) to help keep MISD alumni connected to the community and education philanthropy.   As MEF enters the next 20 years, McKinney students should see a bright future as a result of the passion, dedication and commitment of the McKinney community.

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities including corporate and table sponsorships, please contact MEF Executive Director, Melanie Perkins at 469-742-6314. http://www.mmeeff.com

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