The Ed and Donna Broadwell-HomeTrust Bank Scholarship Fund will award a $5,000 scholarship to a WCU undergraduate student who is a graduate of a WNC public high school.

Colleagues at HomeTrust initiated the scholarship fund to honor Broadwell’s decades of service to the bank. He stepped down from the bank’s board of directors in November, and retired as chairman and chief executive officer in December 2013.

Vice chair of WCU’s Board of Trustees, Broadwell and his wife decided to match the bank’s contributions to create a fund that would provide significant scholarship support for students from WNC.

The Broadwells were motivated by the March 2012 installation address of Chancellor David O. Belcher, who identified raising funds for endowed scholarships as the top philanthropic priority for WCU, said Jim Miller, associate vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs.

“Ed, Donna and their friends at HomeTrust Bank have stepped forward to help keep a WCU education in reach for students who might not otherwise be able to afford it,” Miller said. “We thank them for their generosity and for making a difference in the lives of students from the mountain region.”

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