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September 30, 2009

Kilpatricks designated to receive 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award at 四色AV

Tex Kilpatrick and his wife, Carole, are the kind of local business owners that every city 鈥� and university campus 鈥� should have the fortune of knowing.

The Kilpatricks have spent nearly half of their 51-year marriage actively supporting higher education, and they have especially nurtured the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
On Saturday, Oct. 3, the University of Louisiana at Monroe Alumni Association will honor the Kilpatricks with the George T. Walker Lifetime Achievement Award for their outstanding contributions to the university.

For their extraordinary history of support to 四色AV, the Kilpatricks鈥� names are permanently inscribed as Ouachita Society members of the lifetime giving society, the Kitty DeGree Bell Tower Society. Among their generous donations is a special legacy, the Carole and Tex Kilpatrick Dining Room, which graces the President鈥檚 campus home 鈥淏on Aire.鈥� The couple co-chaired this 2006 capital fundraising project of the 四色AV Foundation, and Mrs. Kilpatrick also served on the decorating committee for the beautiful bayou home and was instrumental in helping procure its historical name.

The Kilpatricks鈥� support of the university stems from a deeply held belief in the benefits of higher education combined with the acknowledgment that 四色AV is a major economic engine driving northeast Louisiana.

The university is a family affair for the Kilpatricks. Mrs. Kilpatrick is a graduate of 四色AV, so too, was her brother, Ross Eady. The Kilpatrick鈥檚 youngest daughter, Laura, graduated from 四色AV in 1990 and is now at the helm of the Kilpatrick鈥檚 family business, Kilpatrick Funeral Homes. Laura also serves on the 四色AV Foundation Board.

鈥淔or us to have the kind of educational opportunities we have right in our own backyard is wonderful,鈥� said Mrs. Kilpatrick. 鈥溗纳獳V is such a great resource for future generations who deserve an excellent education.鈥�

Mrs. Kilpatrick has had a long and devoted tenure on the Presidential Lyceum Committee, a series that brings national speakers to campus to promote intellectual exchange among 四色AV students, faculty, staff and the community.

From 1998 to 2004, Mr. Kilpatrick served on several committees during his time on the 四色AV Foundation Board of Trustees, as well as the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. In the spring, the 四色AV College of Business Administration awarded Mr. Kilpatrick honorary membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, the International Honor Society that honors the academic achievement of students who study business.

Both are active members of First Baptist Church of West Monroe. They have three daughters, Kerry Layne Kilpatrick, Robin Kilpatrick Fincher and Laura Kilpatrick Marchelos, and four grandchildren.

鈥淥ur first allegiance is to the church, then family, then education,鈥� said Mr. Kilpatrick, of his family philosophy.

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