The family of long-time educators and business leaders R.W. and Anna Margaret Butler of Harrisburg have endowed two scholarships at Arkansas State University to benefit students graduating from Harrisburg High School and students from Cleburne County, Ark., high schools.

Jim Tom Butler of Harrisburg and his sisters, Patricia Butler and Beth Butler Eaton, both of Little Rock, made the announcement recently during a ceremony at the Bank of Harrisburg.

"My father knew first-hand the value of a hard-earned education," Jim Tom Butler said. "He also knew the importance of supporting the growth of the region. We are happy to carry out his and our mother’s wishes in establishing these scholarships at Arkansas State University."

The general academic scholarships, named in memory the siblings’ father, R.W. Butler, and in honor of their mother, Anna Margaret Butler, will benefit incoming freshman students entering Arkansas State University.

Eligible students may be graduates of Harrisburg High School, as well as incoming freshman students entering ASU from one of five Cleburne County high schools: Heber Springs, Quitman, Greers Ferry, Concord and Wilburn. The Butler family has banking and business interests in those communities.

"We are very moved by the Butler family’s generosity in establishing this endowment," said Dr. Deborah P. Turner, ASU director of Planned Giving. "Their vision will benefit generations of students who, like R.W. and Anna Margaret Butler, have a desire to improve their lives and the lives of others through educational achievement."

Incoming freshmen who graduate from the above-mentioned schools must have earned a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, and have a minimum ACT score of 23 (or other equivalent college entry test).

For more information, interested students should contact their high school guidance counselor, or the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, Arkansas State University, P.O. Box 1620, State University AR 72467-1620, (870) 972-2310.

Those present for the scholarship endowment announcement included (from left): Paul Eaton, Patricia Butler, Beth Butler Eaton, Mrs. Anna Margaret Butler, Dr. Les Wyatt (president of ASU), and Jim Tom and Connie Butler.

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