When the Las Vegas chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) decided to fund a scholarship at UNLV, the group projected that it would take its members five years to raise the $25,000 needed for an endowed fund.
Thanks to the help of Bob Genzer, who had just retired as a city planner, the goal would be met much sooner than anticipated. “Bob came to us and said, ‘Let me help you guys get started,’” said Laura Spina, current president of the local APA chapter. “His initial gift gave us the momentum we needed.”
The chapter took every opportunity to raise funds, calling for donations at its events. Within a year, the group reached its goal and then some.
“I think about my own experience, and I remember how difficult getting through college was,” Genzer said. “There are a lot of students who have no choice but to work full time in order to pay for school.”
Genzer began working for the city of Las Vegas in 1973. Chapter members continued their fundraising efforts at Genzer’s 2005 retirement party, asking friends and colleagues to pay tribute by contributing to the fund. Now fully endowed, the fund is fittingly called the Bob Genzer/APA Scholarship Endowment Fund. Architecture students will begin receiving awards in 2008.
Tribute and memorial gifts to UNLV can honor an individual’s dedication to a program, field of study, or personal interest. These contributions can be made through one-time or annual gifts, or as part of estate plans.
More info: Contact Deborah Young, director of scholarship and tribute giving, at 702- 895-2818 or at Deborah.Young@unlv.edu.
