A tradition of giving, 55 years strong

Blain Fowler (left), pictured with Augustana student award recipients Chad Nichol, Amelia Gurski and Erin Dorish at the 2025 Community Awards Banquet, is carrying forward a 55-year tradition of giving alongside fellow Camrose donor Bart Orr of Burgar Funeral Home.

When a group of Camrose community leaders came together more than five decades ago to support local students pursuing their education, they were planting the seeds of a lasting legacy.

Among them were Bill Fowler, founder of the Camrose Booster, and Alver Person, then owner of Burgar Funeral Home. Their businesses established awards that have now supported Augustana students for 55 consecutive years.

Today, the Community Awards Program encompasses about 210 donor-funded awards. Together, they demonstrate what can happen when donors make a commitment to students — and when successive generations choose to carry that commitment forward.

For Blain Fowler, Bill’s son and current publisher of the Camrose Booster, the program reflected his father’s deep belief in Camrose.

“He was a strong proponent of community development,” Blain says. “He was an all-in guy for anything that would contribute to making Camrose a more attractive place to live, grow, or earn a living.”

Bill Fowler saw what was then Camrose Lutheran College (now Augustana) as integral to that vision. More students could help the institution grow, expand its academic offerings and enrich the surrounding community.

The Community Awards Program also created connections.

“The Community Awards Program brought the academic community and the business community together,” Fowler says. “Rather than being distinctly separate groups, they were united in a shared cause for good.”

That relationship has endured even as businesses have changed hands.

Bart Orr joined Burgar Funeral Home after his father passed away and the funeral home provided compassionate care for his family. An electrician at the time, Orr was invited to become a funeral director. Today, as owner, he sees continuing the Burgar Funeral Home Scholarship as part of stewarding a business that has served Camrose since 1906.

“The community has continued to stand behind Burgar Funeral Home,” Orr says. “How do we not keep continuing to give back to the community that’s chosen us?”

Bart Orr, pictured with his family, sees Burgar Funeral Home’s long-standing commitment to Augustana as part of a larger tradition of family, community and giving back.

For Orr, easing financial barriers for students is another way of strengthening that community. University gives students opportunities to learn, encounter challenges and discover what they can contribute, he says. An award can make that journey a little easier.

“Receiving three Community Awards helped support the cost of my tuition and allowed me to focus more fully on my studies,” says student recipient Breeghan Johnson. “It felt amazing to have my hard work noticed and my goals supported by the community around me. Meeting some of the donors made that support feel much more personal.”

Those personal connections remain essential for donors like Blain too. Each year, Community Awards donors are invited to meet student recipients over dinner. The Camrose Booster currently supports four students, giving him an opportunity to hear about their studies and aspirations as they progress.

“It’s not that we just throw the money in the pot, maybe hear the splash, and then that’s it,” he says.

For Blain, seeing the program grow since it began in 1973 brings a sense of pride. Businesses have evolved and ownership has changed, but donors have continued to see value in investing in students.

Orr hopes students recognize that they are part of that larger community too.

“If you look to your peers and you look to your community, your community can help guide you, help take your hand and lift you up,” he says.

It’s a relationship that began with a handful of community-minded donors 55 years ago — and one that continues each time another donor chooses to invest in an Augustana student.