From left, Sen. Tim Melson, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, Athens State Vice President for Advancement Keith Ferguson, Sen. Arthur Orr and Rep. Danny Crawford, take part in a $15,000 check presentation to Ferguson on Tuesday to start an ASU scholarship to commemorate the late state Rep. Dan Williams.

Four members of the Limestone County legislative delegation are using TVA in lieu of tax funds to establish an Athens State University scholarship in the name of the late Rep. Dan Williams.

The former Athens mayor for 18 years served as District 5 state representative from 2010 until his death from leukemia July 1, 2015.

In announcing the $15,000 donation to the scholarship fund during a legislative political forum Tuesday, Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, described Williams as “Mr. Athens and Limestone County in the House.”

He said he and his fellow lawmakers — House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Capshaw; Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence; and Rep. Danny Crawford, R-Athens — wanted “to do something significant (to remember Williams) and also help Athens State.”

Who is eligible?

The scholarship is limited to incoming or current ASU students who are Limestone County residents. Priority will be given to a student majoring in political science with an interest in interning at the Limestone County delegation office.

‘Servant, not politician’

McCutcheon and the other lawmakers remembered Williams as a true servant of the people.

“He was a lifelong servant, and he really felt that way,” McCutcheon said. “It was not about, necessarily, his position but it was about the people that he served. I don’t say that lightly. There are such things as politicians and there are also public servants. Dan was in every form, in every way a public servant.

“One of the things I admired about him is he had such a common-sense perspective on things. He was kinda like the grandfather you could sit down on the porch with and ask him what was going on for the day and you knew he was going to give you an answer that you could lead with and take with you and understand. You could take a very complicated piece of legislation and go talk to Dan about it and he could give you a very common-sense perspective on what he thought about it. You’d walk away thinking, ‘Well, gosh, I didn’t see that in there. Why didn’t I see that? That makes a lot of sense.’ So, he was of great value to all of us in the House …”

The four lawmakers presented the scholarship in the form of a giant check to ASU. They also presented a commemorative plaque to Williams’ widow, Kay; and other family members attending, including their sons, Daniel and Charles.

Want to donate?

The scholarship will be administered by the ASU Foundation. Those interested in contributing to the Rep. Dan Williams Memorial Endowed Scholarship may contact the ASU Foundation at 256-233-8215.