At the July 11 celebration of Bill Cramer Chevrolet GMC’s 60th anniversary, the Cramer family announced a gift of $60,000 to the Gulf Coast State College Foundation to expand their long-standing support of JROTC programs.
At the August 26 Bay District Schools Board meeting, the family formally presented the gift — and announced they had increased their commitment to $80,000 to ensure scholarships are available for graduates of all five major military branches represented in Bay County’s JROTC programs.
The new endowment will create five scholarships—one for a high school graduate entering each of the five major military branches—joining an existing endowment that has supported Mosley High School’s Marine Corps JROTC program for more than 20 years. Together, these awards ensure that Bay County JROTC cadets across multiple schools and service branches will have access to tuition support at Gulf Coast State College for generations to come.
“The Cramer family is honored to continue a legacy of service that began in World War II,” said Bill Cramer, a long-serving Trustee and immediate past Chairman of the Gulf Coast State College District Board of Trustees. “More than two decades ago, Virginia Thomas established the first JROTC scholarship in Bay County. As one of the first 100 women from Alabama to enlist in the Marine Corps during the war, she chose to dedicate the scholarship to students in Mosley High School’s Marine Corps JROTC program. She was the mother of Carolyn Cramer and the grandmother of Emily Boyle, Will Cramer, and Chris Cramer, all graduates of Bay High School.”
Virginia believed deeply in creating opportunities for young people, and she started the scholarship as a lasting endowment so students could afford tuition, fees, and books at Gulf Coast State College.
“These awards also pay tribute to my father, Bill Cramer Sr., who served in the Navy during World War II. He was attending a junior college when he enlisted — a reminder of how education and military service have long reinforced one another. In that same spirit, we are especially proud to create opportunities at Gulf Coast State College, building on its long tradition of first-class education for local high school graduates,” added Cramer.
Ashlin Glatthar, Executive Director of the GCSC Foundation, shared: “Both Bay County and the Foundation are forever humbled by the Cramer family’s generosity and commitment to improving the quality of life throughout the region. It’s not just a gift for tuition—it’s a gift of a better future.”
The Cramer family’s expanded gift continues a legacy of education, service, and community leadership, ensuring that the next generation of student leaders in Bay County can pursue their education while honoring the values of discipline, service, and sacrifice.
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