Recognizing the value of having an upper-level university in Central Texas, the Copperas Cove Industrial Foundation (CCIF) has agreed to contribute $100,000 to the “Texas A&M University - Central Texas Foundation.”
Jimmy Clark, CCIF President said, “The Copperas Cove Industrial Foundation understands the importance of this endeavor as a major economic driver for Copperas Cove and all of Central Texas.”
The Texas A&M University - Central Texas Foundation was established to raise funds for the development and educational objectives of Texas A&M University - Central Texas. The most important goal of the Foundation is to remove barriers to potential students. While tuition and fees are very competitive, the group feels it is essential that students on limited incomes be able to realize their college potential.
Bobby Hoxworth, a member of the Texas A&M University - Central Texas Foundation and Chairman of the fundraising arm of the Foundation, Friends of Texas A&M - Central Texas, said, “This university, and its ability to incubate and grow emerging technologies, will become the largest economic development driver in the region since the establishment of Fort Hood. The Copperas Cove Industrial Foundation could not make a more strategic economic development investment.”
CCIF was formed in 1969 by a group of Copperas Cove business owners. The organization was founded to facilitate business growth, create jobs and increase the property tax base along with adding more sales tax revenue. The organization currently has 66 stockholders.
The current directors are:
- Jimmy Clark - President
- Terry Thompson - Vice President
- Jim Schmitz - Treasurer
- Jim French - Secretary
- Wesley Atkinson
- Luke Austin
- Tom Boren
- Harris Caraway
- Joe Carothers
- Harold Irlbeck
- George Leonhard
- Richard Love
In 1988, CCIF traded property with the army to acquire 92 acres that is the current Copperas Cove Business Park. In the early 1990s, part of the property was sold to Super Wal-Mart. Since then, tracts have been sold to various restaurants, hotels and retail businesses. In 1998, CCIF donated approximately seven acres to the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation for the construction of the building that now houses Cinergy Cinemas.
“The Industrial Foundation has always been a major player in economic development in Copperas Cove,” said Dan Yancey, Chairman of the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. “Even before there was an EDC, the Industrial Foundation was working on behalf of our community to provide jobs and tax base. We applaud them for investing in what will become a major catalyst for Copperas Cove’s economic future.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jimmy Clark, President, Copperas Cove Industrial Foundation: (254) 547-3821