By Bruce Hallmark (M.S., ’04)
A recent $100,000 gift by Annette and Brett Himes (B.S., ’80) establishes student-focused funds in two colleges that share a common goal.
Colorado State University’s College of Business is receiving $50,000 for the Himes Family Entrepreneurship Award, which provides student awards for the College of Business’s Institute for Entrepreneurship Annual Venture Rams Showcase competition. Founded in 2000, the institute provides aspiring entrepreneurs with the experience and exposure to present their businesses effectively. The Showcase Competition, held each spring, is where the founders of new ventures not only have the opportunity to pitch a panel of judges on their business ideas but also compete with other teams for cash prizes.
Rachel Roberts, assistant director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, is excited about how the Himes’s gift provides another early-stage venture-funding opportunity. “In most pitch competitions, students hear only from the judges, and while they learn a lot, oftentimes you wish you could hear more perspectives. This gift encourages that by establishing the Himes People’s Choice Award that incentivizes invaluable feedback from the audience on the innovations and ideas presented and is awarded to entrepreneurial endeavors they want to see continue.”
That’s the kind of impact the Himeses wanted to make. “As a chief financial officer, I’ve been involved with entrepreneurial and private equity-backed businesses throughout most of my career, and the college is doing a really nice job encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting small businesses,” said Brett Himes, who works for Specialty Networks LLC, an Ohio-based company that provides business services to private practices in the medical community.
The second fund the Himes family is establishing with a $50,000 gift is the
Robert W. and Mary Jo Himes Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Soil and Crop Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences. As the name states, the fund provides support for research performed by undergraduate students enrolled in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
The fund is named in memory of Himes’s parents, both of whom are now deceased. His father, who went by the name Bob, graduated from CSU (at that time, Colorado A&M) in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in forest and range management. Although forest and range management is a major in the Warner College of Natural Resources, Himes’s father worked for the Forest Service and Yellowstone National Park as a student, but focused primarily on soil science after graduation. He spent most of his career working for the Soil Conservation Service (now referred to as the Natural Resources Conservation Service), which is part of the Department of Agriculture and provides financial and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers to advance conservation efforts.
“Participating in scientific research as part of the undergraduate student academic experience can change the course of their careers,” said Amy Charkowski, professor and head of the Department of Agricultural Biology. “In soil and crop sciences, student contributions to research can also change the world by improving agricultural and environmental sustainability. We are grateful for the support provided to our students by the Himes family.”
While the two gifts address very different programs, they both advance academic excellence in their respective colleges. “I had a great experience at CSU, both academically and socially,” Himes said. “Annette and I wanted to do something that directly impacted students. This was a great opportunity for us to give back, and we are really pleased with the professors who are involved with these programs. We plan to keep adding to the funds over the years – it will be a good legacy for my parents and us.”
Interested in giving to an area at CSU you are passionate about? Visit giving.colostate.edu to learn more.