About the Fund
If you do not have the ability to read, you deny life.
– THOMAS WILLIAM BENNETT
He believed that a person could do anything if they sat down and read how to do it. When WWII started, he was the first man from the state of South Carolina to enlist in the U.S. Army. He quickly rose to captain and spent most of the war in the Pacific (the Queen of Fiji considered him a friend). Later, Thomas had a long career at Harcourt Brace publishing.
TRIBUTES TO THOMAS WILLIAM BENNETT
Donald M. Paterson, knew Bennett for nearly 50 years and considered him a true Renaissance man. He was an extraordinary person. His vitality, his enthusiastic interest in reading and his dedication to helping others will, indeed, be perpetuated in this memorial scholarship. He was my boss, my mentor, my advisor, and most importantly, my friend. No one outside my immediate family had a more profound influence on my life. I personally know scores of others whose lives were similarly enriched by this warm, caring man.
-RICK STEINKAMP, Former President, McGraw-Hill, School Division
His laughter is a part of him that I remember best and will continue to cherish. Knowing him was a gift that never can be taken away.
– GWENDOLYN KERR
Bill’s scholarship will make a difference in someone’s life. What a wonderful idea.
– RYAN WINTERS
In the event that Bill is watching this scholarship take place, I do believe he’d be smiling.
– B.D. DUPONT
