Tim Evans estate bequest
Evans has set aside a significant part of his estate as a bequest, with half of the designated funds to be left to his church and the other to Georgia Southern.
He never attended Georgia Southern, but has seen the University grow in size and impact. Evans said he had visited friends who went to school here in the 1970s and `80s, but had not seen the campus for many years.
“I was so shocked when I had not been here for 15 or 20 years and realized all the things that they had done. I was floored. I was just blown away,” he said.
“I look around and see all the new construction and all the kids here and there’s a lot of challenges. Georgia Southern has not been supported by corporate America like some of the other big schools and hopefully as it grows, it will. Maybe in some small way what I can do can help lay some groundwork for that.
“There are things we support in life that wouldn’t have a big impact, but I feel like giving here I can make a difference,” he said. That’s why I chose to support Georgia Southern in this way.”
Evans started building his firm with knowledge he gained as a construction laborer in high school, then continued to work construction part-time while in college – first at the University of Georgia and, later, at Georgia State University.
He finished at Georgia State with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in economics.
“I learned a lot from being out in the field, but when you do construction there’s so much finance involved with accounting, bonding, insurance – the actual ‘business’ part of construction can get very complicated,” said Evans. “Completing my degree really helped, and I’d like to be able to help the kids who want to be involved in the business and need that knowledge to succeed.”
Evans said he wants his gift to also reach some students who are not necessarily planning to enter the field of construction.
“The program that I’m most interested in because of my profession is construction management and engineering technology,” said Evans, “but for any school to be a great school you’ve got to be balanced in all disciplines and all professions, so I’ve asked that half of my contribution go to other areas.”
Evans is also hoping to support the University’s student leadership programming, which gives students opportunities to take lead roles in campus and community projects.
“Whether you’re in biology or teaching or nursing or construction management or whatever else, having a leadership program applies to all the different schools,” he said. “You take people who excel in those areas and bring them to the next level so when they get out they really will be prepared to lead and excel.”