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D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 8 M A C O N M A G A Z I N E | 53 7 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY C ommonly a family fund is handed down from parents to children. This is an uncommon tale of a family giving the gift of philanthropy to a man who was not their biological brother, but rather a brother of their hearts. In 2011 at a family member's rehearsal dinner, the Miller Family presented J. W. and Martha Whipple with a scholarship fund to advise at CFCG. "I just cried and cried, said Martha "I knew that we loved them and they loved us, I just didn't realize how much." J. W. and Martha award a scholarship from the fund each year to a graduate of Wilkinson County High School. They make their selection by reading applicants' essays and reviewing their grade point average. When J. W. Whipple was 12 years old, his mother died. He had been doing yard work for Mr. Miller's mother in Gordon before he moved to Irwinton. "When I moved to Irwinton, I was living here and there and the Millers took me under their wing," says J. W. "Mrs. Carolyn started calling me their oldest son, so I became the oldest of five boys, even though I was black and they were white," he chuckled. J. W. worked in the Millers' poultry business, first caring for the hens and later driving a delivery truck. Even after J. W.'s career path took him to Englehard Kaolin, where he worked his way up to the position of relief foreman, he remained a part of the Miller family. J. W. and Martha are always invited to and look forward to attending every Miller family function. Years ago Mr. Miller told the Whipples that it was never too late at night to call if they needed anything at all. Today, J. W. echoes that sentiment in talking about his Miller brothers. "If they called right now, I'd have to go. No distance too far." And now the scholarship fund allows the Whipples to make a difference in the lives of other young people. Scholarship Funds Newton and Sara Anderson Scholarship for Excellence Fund Leo H. Brooks Scholarship Fund Joyce Brown Memorial Scholarship Fund Career Women's Network Scholarship Fund Major David L. Carter Scholarship Fund French Barron Cason and Thomas H. Cason Memorial Scholarship Fund Clifton-Whitehead Scholarship Fund Sgt. Rodney M. Davis, USMC (MOH) Memorial Scholarship Fund Education Together Fund GIGA Inc. Scholarship Fund P. Allen Golson Scholarship Fund Sarah and George William Grier, Jr. Scholarship Fund Hancock Scholarship Fund Chapin Henley M.D. Scholarship Fund Thiele Kaolin Higher Education Scholarship Fund Trevor James Kelley Scholarship Fund Gladys Lasky Endowment Fund Al Lucas Memorial Scholarship Fund Miller-Lanier-Central Scholarship Fund John and Nancy Nations Scholarship Fund Alvin V. Palmer Scholarship Fund David Leon and Love Lankford Presley Scholarship Fund Riehl Science Scholarship Fund Rotary Club of Downtown Macon Scholarship Fund The Shield Club Fund G. Michael Shoffner M.D. Scholarship Fund William P. Simmons Art Scholarship Fund Billy and Bobby Stevens Fund Walters Family Scholarship Fund J. W. and Martha Whipple Scholarship Fund Charles H. Williamson Memorial Scholarship Fund WinShape Trailblazer Scholarship Fund