Premiere Fundraiser Dedicated To Raising Scholarship Dollars

    For the past 13 years, Texas State University's star-studded "Celebrity Classic" has evolved from a nice little celebrity-focused social and golf tournament to a major fundraising event that brings in big dollars for the Graduate College's scholarship program.

    Real success began in 2000 when CenturyTel of San Marcos, Inc.'s John Navarrette made a $100,000 commitment to become the name sponsor of the three-day event. In 2005, CenturyTel and Navarrette increased their pledge to $150,000 over the next five years.

    Before the 2005 event, Texas State's contracted dining service provider, Chartwells Educational Dining Services, a division of Compass Group North America and a Celebrity Classic presenting sponsor, stepped forward to join CenturyTel as a title sponsor. In addition to its cash sponsorship of the Classic, Chartwells covers all expenses of the dinner and auction that officially kick-off the event each year.

    The deal that Navarrette and Chartwells' general district manager Charles Blackwell carved out to share name sponsor status led to the debut of the renamed event in 2005 - the "Chartwells CenturyTel Texas State Celebrity Classic."

    The big winners in the changes that were introduced to the Celebrity Classic through the years are Texas State graduate students who benefit from increased scholarship revenue.

     And it's all about raising scholarship dollars.

     "Our presenting sponsors, CenturyTel, Chartwells, Priority Personnel, and H-E-B, as well as other major sponsors, have helped turn a fun event into a highly successful fundraiser that benefits graduate students at this great university," Willoughby said. The Classic offers the oppurtunity to rub elbows with popular telivision, movie, music and sports personalities at the events.

     The Celebrity Classic "weekend" - which starts on Saturday and runs through Monday - is just plain fun from start to finish. In its almost perfect location in the high-growth IH-35 corridor area, Texas State, a state-assisted university with more than 28,000 students, is a great place for special events like the Celebrity Classic. Early May is usually a good month to be in Central Texas in terms of temperature, the natural beauty of Texas wildflowers and the area's scenic landscape. The fact that San Marcos' two outlet malls have become one of the top tourist attractions in Texas certainly enhances corporate partner benefits in the area.