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Maynard Family endows scholarship at APSU

APSU Advancement LogoLocal businessman James Maynard has endowed a scholarship at Austin Peay State University, continuing his family’s legacy of supporting the Clarksville business community.

“I’m from here, born here, raised here, and I just felt like I need to give back to the community,” he said.

Earlier this year, Maynard donated three separate parcels of land to the University. The land will be sold, and the resulting money will create the Maynard Family Endowment Scholarship.

“The Maynard family’s extraordinary generosity will benefit students for many years to come,” APSU President Tim Hall said. “This scholarship endowment will help students attend Austin Peay who might otherwise have had to forgo the dream of a college degree. I’m so thankful to the Maynards for their wonderful support of the University and its students.”

The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student pursing a degree in business at APSU. The student must be a Montgomery County resident in need of financial assistance, and he or she may renew the scholarship every year if a 3.0 GPA is maintained.

“Mr. Maynard has opened his heart up to Austin Peay,” Rip Watts, director of corporate relations at APSU, said. “This is a very generous gift that will allow a student in the Clarksville area to earn a college diploma.”

Maynard earned a business degree from APSU in 1956. Shortly after graduating, at the age of 22, he began an impressive entrepreneurial career by opening the Sportsman’s Store on Cumberland Drive. He later sold that business and joined his family in operating a Buick, Pontiac, GMC, Opel dealership at the corner of College and Ninth streets. In the late 1970s, he sold his part of the dealership and started building apartments and homes through Maynard Construction Inc.

In 1965, James married Betty Doane, and three of their children – Jim Maynard, William Maynard and Courtney Caudill – are all deeply involved with the family business. A fourth child, Samuel Maynard, is a doctor in east Tennessee.

The family hopes to continue investing in the endowment for years to come, allowing future generations of Clarksville-Montgomery County residents a chance to earn a business degree from Austin Peay.

“I hope it can benefit some students in the area,” Maynard said.

For more information, contact the University Advancement Office at 931-221-7127.

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