Presentation Speech made by Nancy Rabb:
"The Greater Round Rock Community Foundation was established in 2004 in the interest of supporting, recognizing and growing philanthropy. The first Foundation Philanthropy Award was given in 2005 to the Louis Henna family. This year the Foundation again honors one of the Round Rock leaders who manifested concern for human welfare of gigantic proportions. Just as Mr. Henna was not here to accept the accolades, Bunky Whitlow is not with us tonight also. This is actually the first Chamber banquet Bunky has missed attending in 42 years. But this community does not need reminding of the impact his generosity made on Round Rock. A life long banker, Bunky was known as "the poor man's banker" - defining philanthropy in Round Rock by helping countless get started who needed a hand up - often times making personal loans himself to help those in need without expecting return payment. He also strived to preserve the history of Round Rock while embracing the new. His lifetime work with the Old Settlers Association helped restore buildings and established Old Settlers Park and in recent years he helped bring Capital Idea to Williamson County which has helped enrich the lives of so many residents living in poverty. Few people in life have touched so many. Few have given so much and a very few loved the Round Rock community more. Tonight we celebrate the life of a man who made life better for so many in numerous endeavors. We would like to present this year's Round Rock Community Foundation Philanthropy Service Award to Bunky Whitlow."
"For the first time, the Foundation is also awarding the Innovation in Philanthropy Award. The spirit of this award is in recognizing those in our community who strive to create new and innovative ways of making a difference. Just as Bunky in his final years continued to seek new ways to give, many groups work tirelessly to better our community in these changing times. Tonight we recognize one particular organization. Not only have they been giving to Round Rock for more than 30 years in a myriad of projects benefiting our city, they have innovatively initiated the new Children of Fallen Soldiers Project raising funds to provide children of fallen veterans with the opportunity to one day attend college. This group has collectively challenged themselves to do more, go one step further and embrace the unknown, on top of all their current work. The Round Rock Community Foundation is very pleased to award the Philanthropy Innovation Award to the Round Rock Noon Rotary Club"