McKinley Family Scholarship reaches endowment status

Jul. 26—It took only 10 days for friends of the McKinley family to contribute more than $10,000 to fund a permanent scholarship endowment in their honor.

The Weatherford College Foundation recently announced that the McKinley Family Scholarship, established in honor of Bob, Dee, Trey and Traci McKinley, has surpassed the benchmark to become permanently endowed. Multiple donors contributed to making the endowment a reality.

"I think that says a lot about the McKinleys' standing in the Weatherford College community," said Brent Baker, executive director of the WC Foundation. "They have been an integral part of the Coyote family since 1976. Think about all the students they have impacted over the decades, not to mention the community at large."

Bob McKinley, WC's head women's basketball coach and athletic director, has coached at the college for nearly 50 years. He is closing in on 1,000 wins as the head coach, making him one of the winningest coaches in the nation at any level. As athletic director, he oversees eight (soon to be 10) WC sports. His late wife, Dee, was a passionate Coyote supporter.

Their children, Trey and Traci, are both WC employees in leadership positions. Trey is WC's kinesiology program chair and previously served as a high school basketball coach.

Traci was pivotal to WC's recent successful reaffirmation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. She worked with dozens of employees to help create transparent, continuous improvement measures that will benefit the college for years.

Spearheaded by foundation board member and basketball alumnus Warren Creason, the effort to build the scholarship fund even larger continues to support a greater number of student scholarships. Donors may give at wc.edu or mail checks to the WC Foundation, 225 College Park Dr., Weatherford, TX 76086. Please specify "McKinley Family Scholarship."