Greg Lawton

The idea began with Greg and Anna Lawton in 2014. They wanted to develop a college attendance path for deserving Greene County students who were academically able to attend college but perhaps financially unable. Through their research and insight, they began a scholarship program that provides eligible students the opportunity to attend college without undue financial burden. The Lawtons decided to partner with ATLAS Ministry to administer the scholarship, in part because ATLAS aligned closely with the Lawton’s own family tenants of education, service, and Christian values. Thus, the Lawton Family Scholarship was born.

In August 2023, Greg Lawton passed away after a serious illness. The Scholarship program stayed on track to continue. Then in December 2023, ATLAS Ministry received a gift of $250,000 from Leo and Arlene Hawk, founders of the Ar-Hale Family Foundation, in memory of Greg and his service on the board of the family’s company, American Trim. The letter that accompanied this gift stated that it is issued “to the ATLAS Ministry for the Lawton Family Scholarship.”

The Hawk family’s generosity allows for an expansion of the Lawton Scholarship to more students. In addition, the Lawton family wants to provide a broader reach for students who are interested in two-year programs or career training opportunities. In a recent statement, Anna Lawton said, “In order to honor Greg, his vision, and his legacy, we will rename the scholarship to The Greg Lawton ATLAS Scholarship. We will begin to immediately incorporate the Hawk’s generous donation by expanding the scope of the annual offerings to include 2-year accredited programs and certified technical programs for trade students.” Going forward, ATLAS Ministry will continue to hone and develop the scholarship program in order to incorporate more students. Ryan Gibadlo, ATLAS Ministry’s Executive Director spoke about the next steps stating, “It’s incredibly exciting to be able to build off of the legacy begun by Greg and the Lawton family. As we head into the home stretch of the initial program timeline, recent investments such as the gift from the Ar-Hale family foundation have provided a kick start to ATLAS’ ability to extend and multiple the impact for many more years to come.”

In 2016, the first two students received the award. Since then, twenty-three deserving students have received the award, representing all three high schools in Greene County. Eight are college graduates. Of those eight, four have entered graduate school in their fields; three have completed master’s degrees, and one begins a Master’s program this fall. The program graduates are employed in business, professional flight, education, medical, marketing, fashion … all in the careers to which they aspired.

Greg Lawton’s vision from the beginning was “to INSPIRE Greene County students to ASPIRE to greater college or technical education pathways without undue financial burden.” His hope was that Lawton Scholars would become productive and involved citizens of Greene County or wherever they chose to live. The Ar-Hale Family Foundation gift allows for even more students to be eligible to benefit from this scholarship in a broader variety of programs, leading to skills and services which they will be able to take to their communities. This gift truly signifies the inspiration Greg was to his community and the people he interacted with in all circles. Now, through the Ar-Hale gift and many more who have contributed in his memory, his heart for the young men and women in this community will continue to be carried on.