Floyd Edwin Younkin (1916) and Mary Irene Pontius (1920) were born and raised in Pickaway County. The struggles involved in working family farms during the Depression established a strong work ethic and determination that they carried throughout their lives. They instilled that same principle in their three children as well as Irene’s twin sister’s three children whom they raised after her untimely death.

After their marriage in 1940, they moved to Columbus and purchased 9 acres of ground on Greenlawn Avenue where they ran a wrecking company during WWII and later used the land as a temporary trailer park for returning GI’s. What started as 25 temporary spaces grew to a dozen manufactured housing communities and nearly 2500 residents. A pioneer in the industry, Floyd’s park designs and building methods and Irene’s hands-on management led them to both being inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame as a testament to their success. Along the way they also built parks in Florida and transitioned that into a public company known as Dycom Industries, a leading construction company in fiber optics which is currently traded on the NYSE.

Following Floyd’s death in 1997, Irene continued her active role in the businesses they built until her death in 2015. She paid forward to the communities they loved and educating youth with her contribution to form the Floyd E. Younkin branch library in Ashville and the Younkin Success Center at The Ohio State University. Although they never had the opportunity to attend college, both strongly believed in the rewards that education brings. To continue the legacy that they started, Floyd and Irene’s family established this scholarship.