David Jones’ testimony at the November 2006 Buc Club meeting

Rick [Brewer] asked me to briefly tell how I got involved in supporting Charleston Southern University athletics and why I continue to support Charleston Southern University. First of all, I am not an alumnus and knew little about Charleston Southern until about five years ago. I first learned about Charleston Southern when I met then men’s basketball coach Jim Platt at church. Later I met people like Rick Brewer, Jay Mills and Steve Barrows and realized that these were men of integrity that cared about the young people they worked with. I got involved in the BUC Club at a lower level to support these coaches.

As I begin to see how much these men cared for their players academically, personally and spiritually, I decided to get more involved and joined the BUC Club Board of Directors. After more than four years on the Board of Directors, I realized that each administrative member and each coach truly cares for every student at Charleston Southern. The thankful attitude of athletes that I have met is an example of how grateful they are for our support.

The second part of Rick’s question is why I continue to support Charleston Southern. I look at each student athlete that goes through this school as an investment in the future. I know that the training they receive here will go with them throughout their lives.

Not one of us here can predict the impact that just one of these students will have on future generations. I believe that based on this our contributions for athletic scholarship is money well spent.

On behalf of the Buc Club I would like to thank each of you for your continued support of Charleston Southern athletics. I would also like to challenge each of us to look in our communities, our companies, and our churches to see if there are others that would be interested in Charleston Southern’s mission of “Promoting Academic Excellence in a Christian Environment”.