Press Release: May 6, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Courtice, 614/251-4000 
               

J. FLOYD DIXON MEMORIAL FUND ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS
TO BENEFIT JACKSON COUNTY

COLUMBUS, OH (May 6, 2008)—The advisory committee of the J. Floyd Dixon Memorial Fund has announced that the deadline for submitting grant applications in 2008 is Friday, May 30. Grant applications are available at www.columbusfoundation.org or the public library. Applications can also be obtained from any member of the fund’s advisory committee or Lisa Courtice at Community Foundations, Inc.  To be considered, groups should e-mail grant applications to submit@columbusfoundation by 11:59 p.m.

The Dixon Fund will award grants to nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations located in Jackson County that are focused primarily on education and health issues. Eligible programs should focus on school-age children or senior citizens.

Born in 1887, Mr. Dixon was raised on a farm in Jackson County near Oak Hill. As a young man, he began a teaching career in the Wellston and Oak Hill schools. Mr. Dixon’s service to the area’s schools continued in 1920 with his appointment as superintendent of schools for Jackson County.

During his tenure as superintendent from 1920 to 1924, Mr. Dixon worked to pass a tax levy vital to the long-term success of Jackson schools, and was instrumental in creating two new high schools, Bloomfield Township and Scioto Township.

Elizabeth Watson, Mr. Dixon’s daughter, created the J. Floyd Dixon Memorial Fund to honor her father’s great service to education. Mrs. Watson attended elementary school in Jackson and later graduated Phi Beta Kappa from The Ohio State University. She married Alfred N. Watson, moved to the East Coast, and raised two sons. In 1977, Mr. and Mrs. Watson returned to Columbus to open Northland Terrace Medical Center, which became central Ohio’s largest nursing and rehabilitation facility. After her husband’s death, Mrs. Watson continued to serve as the medical center’s president until it was sold in 1996. Mrs. Watson passed away in 2003.

The following Jackson County residents have been appointed to the fund’s advisory committee: Bonny Huffman, Glenna LeGrand, Ed McQueen, Ted Nichting, Stan Lewis, and two family members of the founder: Drew and Keith Watson. The committee meets periodically to review applications and recommend grant recipients.

The Dixon Fund is a component of Community Foundations, Inc. For additional information about the fund, please contact Lisa Courtice at 614/251-4000. 

Community Foundations, Inc., was established in 1987 to enable donors to support nonprofit organizations primarily in the state of Ohio and beyond the central Ohio region.

For more information visit www.columbusfoundation.org or call 614/251-4000.