Margaret Osoinach’s birthday gift this year would not fit in a box; it will go on for years.

Her family has established an endowment account at Arkansas State University, in honor of the Jonesboro resident’s avid support of the women’s basketball program. They chose the recent occasion of her 80^th birthday to make the gift.

Earnings from the account will provide funds for letter jackets for qualifying members of the women’s basketball team, of which Mrs. Osoinach is a longtime fan and supporter. She has been attending games since the mid-1970s when the program began.

Mr. and Mrs. John K. (Pat) Osoinach Sr. of Wichita Falls, Texas, and Margaret Ann (Maggie) Osoinach of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., made the contribution to the Arkansas State University Foundation Inc. to establish the award.

"I am very appreciative to Mrs. Osoinach for her enthusiastic support of the girls’ team over the years," according to Brian Boyer, women’s basketball coach at ASU. "Also, we are grateful to her daughter, Maggie, her son, Pat, and his wife, Susan, for their generous gift in her honor. This is a wonderful benefit to our program, and will help promote a sense of pride among the girls."

The Margaret Osoinach Award for Women’s Basketball will be awarded to players who are in good standing and an active participant in the program through the end of the sport season. Qualifying students will be eligible to receive a letter jacket in their first year of lettering.

Mrs. Osoinach moved to Jonesboro in 1963 when her husband, the late Dr. John C. Osoinach, joined the faculty at what was then Arkansas State College.

Photo caption:
Margaret Osoinach (second from left) and Brian Boyer (left), women’s basketball coach at Arkansas State University, look over an athletic letter jacket, similar to the type which will be provided through the Margaret Osoinach Award for Women’s Basketball. With them for the announcement were her daughter, Maggie, and her son and his wife, Pat and Susan Osoinach, along with Dr. Deborah Turner, director of planned giving in the ASU Office of University Advancement.

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