![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/sam-spear-09.jpg\")
Sam Spear ’09.<\/p><\/div>\n
Emeritus Professor of History David Spear shared a special bond with his son Sam Spear \u201909. David read to Sam each night from a history series when Sam was 6 years old and continued the bedtime ritual well into adolescence, until the pull of other interests prevailed over stories of world history. They shared a love of baseball, too, traveling in the summers to see 15 of the 30 Major League ball parks, sometimes hitting as many as five parks in a single trip.<\/p>\n
For Debbie Spear, it was the flowers. Every Mother\u2019s Day for close to two decades, Sam would barrel up the stairs with \u201chis huge feet,\u201d beaming smile and enormous hug to deliver flowers to his mom.<\/p>\n
Memories like these sustain David and Debbie in the wake of their son\u2019s death on July 23, 2019. The Furman health and exercise sciences graduate succumbed to alcohol addiction made worse by a traumatic brain injury sustained after a fall, and a series of personal and other health struggles that together took their toll on the 32-year-old.<\/p>\n
More than a year later, the Spears, still reeling from the crippling loss, wrestled with how to honor Sam through a financial gift to Furman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we really wanted was to have a sober-living house,\u201d said Debbie \u2013 a drug- and alcohol-free place where students with similar addiction stories can support one another and hold each other accountable during their recovery. But without a straightforward way to set up a house through Furman, the Spears looked to the Department of Health Sciences, formerly known as health and exercise science.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam loved exercise science, he just loved it,\u201d said Debbie.<\/p>\n
Sam\u2019s effervescence shined most when he worked as a fitness trainer at The Cliffs at Glassy, she remembers. \u201cHe just liked everybody. There was never anybody, any group, or nationality he was uncomfortable with,\u201d said Debbie, an English as a Second Language teacher, who frequently had guest of different nationalities and backgrounds in the house while Sam was growing up.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam was right at home, and he made them feel right at home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came into some unanticipated family funds \u2013 not millions of dollars \u2013 so we were able to think about something we could do,\u201d Debbie said. \u201cSam had benefitted so much from Furman, so we thought, \u2018What would Sam have wanted to do to encourage people to be as crazy about this [health and exercise science] as he was?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The Spears concluded that if they could find a way to make it possible for students to do extra things, such as attend conferences in the field, the funding would go a long way toward enhancing their understanding and appreciation of the discipline \u2013 \u201cproviding just the right encouragement at just the right time \u2013 much like Sam\u2019s internship at The Cliffs changed his life,\u201d said Debbie.<\/p>\n
With the confidence their gift would be used in a manner that would honor Sam, the Spears made a decision to move forward. \u201cThe health sciences department, which encouraged Sam\u2019s internship at The Cliffs, knew Sam and the kinds of things he would have liked,\u201d said Debbie.<\/p>\n
But more than the gift itself, the Spears want all to remember Sam\u2019s love of people. \u201cHe had such an ease with people and excitement about meeting new people,\u201d said Debbie.<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s not much we can do to redeem this [loss], but I think Sam would be thrilled to know there\u2019s something at Furman that is supporting what he was most passionate about and the department he loved the most.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Henry Barton and Melanie (Dodd) Barton, both members of the class of 1984, an investment in The Furman Advantage is what drives their gift earmarked for scholarship support and for those with financial need.<\/p>\n
![\"Henry](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/henry-and-melanie-Barton-425.jpg\")
Henry Barton ’84 and Melanie Dodd Barton ’84.<\/p><\/div>\n
Their backgrounds set the stage for how they would make decisions on giving decades later. Henry, a Greenville native and political science graduate, comes from a long line of Furman alumni, including his father, grandfather, great aunt, uncle and many cousins. Political science and history alumna Melanie, on the other hand, is a first-generation graduate from Alpharetta, Georgia. Their children \u2013 Chandler and Hannah \u2013 graduated Furman in 2013 and 2018, respectively. Chandler married Elizabeth Koppang, who graduated in 2013.<\/p>\n
The Furman Advantage framework as it\u2019s known today didn\u2019t exist in the mid-80s, but elements of it did, such as study away and a chance to have meaningful relationships with professors.<\/p>\n
Henry remembers having spirited discussions with Professor Emeritus of Political Science Don Aiesi and Don Gordon, professor of political science and executive director of The Riley Institute, who encouraged Henry to take an internship through the Washington Center in D.C. \u2013 a post that would have life-long repercussions, both personally and professionally.<\/p>\n
Melanie also participated in a Washington Center internship, and that\u2019s how the two met. They became engaged after a Bell Tower proposal by Henry in 1986 and married in 1987.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon Gordon takes credit for us getting together,\u201d Henry jokes.<\/p>\n
The Capitol Hill internship also informed Henry\u2019s later foray into political life as he served Congressman Carroll A. Campbell, Jr., who became governor of South Carolina. Later, after working as a utility lobbyist, Henry launched his own consulting firm focusing on utility and renewable energy issues.<\/p>\n
On the advice of William Montgomery Burnett Professor of History Marian Strobel, Melanie pursued a master\u2019s in public policy analysis at Duke University. After graduating in 1986, she moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where she has worked in education policy for the South Carolina General Assembly and now for Gov. Henry McMaster.<\/p>\n
Her desire to help first-generation students and others with financial need at Furman meshes with her work ambitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdvancing educational opportunities is my career and passion for all children, but especially for children who must overcome significant financial barriers to achieve their personal educational goals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Together, the Bartons hope their gift will be transformational.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope our long-term investment will transform the personal and professional trajectory of students for years to come, just like the Furman experience changed us,” said Henry. “We look forward to meeting the scholarship recipients whose lives will enrich and bless ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
You could say Chairman P. Edwin Good, now in his 14th\u00a0year on the Furman Board of Trustees, is a fixture on campus. You\u2019d also be correct in saying the 1967 Furman history major and his wife, former board member and French alumna Peggy Ellison Good \u201967, are committed to a life of giving in terms of their time, talent and financial resources.<\/p>\n
![\"Edwin](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ed-good-trustee-shot-400.jpg\")
P. Edwin Good ’67.<\/p><\/div>\n
Ed\u2019s service to the Greenville Community \u2013 about 40 years \u2013 is marked by his more than 15 years on the board at Hollingsworth Funds, a major Furman University benefactor, and scores of other governing bodies dedicated mostly to children, education and social services concerns.<\/p>\n
For Furman, Ed and Peggy have served as class agents for fundraising and have been heavily involved in reunion activities. Ed also served many years on the Paladin Club board and on the Furman Advisory Council.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/news.furman.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ed-and-peggy-good-cropped.jpg\")
P. Edwin Good ’67 and Peggy Ellison Good ’67.<\/p><\/div>\n
The two met as freshmen in a French class at Furman. They married in 1966 during their senior year then went to graduate school at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where they both earned Master of Arts in Teaching degrees.<\/p>\n
As freshly minted educators, they taught school in Charlotte, North Carolina, and in Rome, Georgia, before returning to the home of their alma mater in 1971, when Ed took a position in Furman’s development office as director of alumni programs for a couple of years.<\/p>\n
Successful ventures in commercial real estate financing, then commercial real estate development came next for Ed, founder of Hampton Development Company.<\/p>\n
But it was Ed\u2019s time in Furman’s development office that led to so many board seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople heard I was involved in the fundraising business, so they thought, \u2018Hey, this guy would be a great board member or a great committee member, because he\u2019s actually raised some money and he\u2019s not afraid of it,\u2019\u201d Ed said, laughing.<\/p>\n
Except that now and in years past, he and Peggy are the ones doing the giving.<\/p>\n
Their most recent gift isn\u2019t fully \u201cfleshed out,\u201d said Ed, but he expects that half will go toward funding campus operations, and the remaining half will probably be set aside for student financial aid.<\/p>\n
Multiple financial contributions from the Goods over the years have bolstered the Cothran Center for Vocational Reflection, the James B. Duke Library, the tennis program and others.<\/p>\n
But for all their generosity, the Goods remain humble.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve tried to do what we could,” said Ed. “We think Furman does a great job. We think people who finish Furman have a good experience and come out caring about others and wanting to serve.”<\/p>\n
He applauds the Heller Service Corps, the Cothran Center and other campus organizations that provide outlets for social good.<\/p>\n
Parents of three sons who graduated Furman in 1993, 1996 and 1997, the Goods continue to believe in Furman\u2019s approach, especially what they see in The Furman Advantage and its deliberate focus on study away, mentorship and undergraduate research opportunities for students.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou read about these young alumni and how they\u2019ve done great things,” said Ed. “It\u2019s obvious to us that Furman is making a difference in the world, and that\u2019s something we want to support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gifts \u2013 both large and small \u2013 have untold ripple effects throughout generations and do not go unnoticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cGifts to student scholarships, like these, ensure that we can fulfill our promise to provide every student an unparalleled education \u2013 The Furman Advantage,\u201d said Furman President Elizabeth Davis.\u00a0\u201cSuch donor support, of all levels, allows us to continue to provide aid to every student who has financial need. Thank you to David and Debra Spear, Henry and Melanie Barton, Ed and Peggy Good, and every member of the Furman family who support our students\u2019 academic journeys through gifts to student scholarships.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The reasons people give are as varied as the individuals making the gifts. Some make financial commitments to Furman to remember a loved one. Some give to advance a program […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":257,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,26,3,88,57,21,42,52,16,32,47,61,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-department-page","category-administrative","category-alumni","category-cothran-center-for-vocational-reflection","category-donor-stories","category-health-sciences","category-history","category-library","category-modern-languages-and-literature","category-politics-and-international-affairs","category-study-away-and-international-education","category-the-furman-advantage","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/257"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}