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became a reality,” Don Wales, then chamber president, said. “We plan for growth in real estate values and housing con- struction in this area. We are hoping that people that operate businesses will relocate here to take advantage of The El Dorado Promise.”
tion of the Arkansas Activities Association, included a story about The Promise in their March 2007 issue and quoted then El Dorado Superintendent Bob Watson as saying, “This is a huge day. As of today, El Dorado High School graduates will have an unprecedented opportunity to continue their educa- tion. For some students, this is life changing. Students who have worked hard, but would not have been able to attend college because of financial limitations, now have the means to do so.”
In a March 2010 issue of “Southern Living” magazine, a travel page was dedicated to El Dorado, with a section about The Promise that reads, “Best Perk: Thanks to a $50 million private gift, the El Dorado Promise guarantees local high school grads full college tuition until 2027.”
Ken James, then director of the Arkansas Department of Education, said, “The Arkansas Department of Education lauds Murphy Oil Corp. for its incredibly generous gift to El Dorado students and for the enormous impact this $50 million investment in students will have for education throughout Arkansas.”
“People” magazine’s June 1, 2009 issue, featured a photo of Deming and reported, “The El Dorado Promise is changing lives. In just the second year of the program, 312 students are attending college on Murphy Oil funds. It’s also bringing new life to this former southern Arkansas boomtown. Since 2007, school enrollment has increased, reversing a 20-year decline and an astounding 95 percent of this year’s seniors say they plan to go to college, a big leap from the 60 percent rate that held steady for years.”
Bob Dotson on The Today Show’s “American Story,” report- ed on Dec. 24, 2007, about The El Dorado Promise. He said, “Claiborne Deming quietly made his hometown a promise this year. All the high school graduates who have been in the El Dorado school system since ninth grade can attend any college in the country on his company’s dime. He’s challenged kids to dream big – Harvard, Yale, public or private universities. Doesn’t matter.”
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The Reader’s Digest “Best Class Act” award in 2007 was to Murphy Oil Corp., for their commitment to El Dorado. It read, “In January, Claiborne Deming, CEO of Murphy Oil Corp. in El Dorado, Arkansas, told seniors at the local high school, ‘Your college education is paid for.’ Backed by a $50 million commitment, the scholarships cover in-state tuition (or equiv- alent) for grads who take 12 plus credits (in college) a semester and maintain a 2.0 GPA.”
“Who says no news is good news? The news out of El Dorado last week was beyond simply good. It was positively uplifting,” arkansasbusiness.com reported on Jan. 29, 2007. “Murphy Oil Corp. has dedicated $50 million to removing the financial obstacle to college enrollment for every product of El Dorado High School for the next 20 years. What this offer will mean to the future of children fortunate enough to live in El Dorado is obvious and may even be calculable – financially at least.
“But what else it will mean to El Dorado and Union County can only be imagined. The next big employer that considers a new site in the area will certainly look at the local education system in a different light: College prep at El Dorado High School really is exactly that.”
In Talk Business Quarterly for the first quarter of 2008, in their story titled, “A Promise Made,” it reads, “One of the more unique business stories of 2007 occurred in January when Claiborne Deming, president and CEO of El Dorado-based Murphy Oil, announced that the company would fund up to $50 million in college scholarships for graduates of the El Dorado Public School system.”
They reported at that time that Deming had said, “We are committed to making El Dorado a great place to live and work and we created the Promise to further invest in El Dorado’s greatest resource: our children.”
In the “Trade and Industry Development” publication dated May/June 2007, it was reported, “The El Dorado Chamber of Commerce is banking on economic growth in their commu- nity thanks to a local company.” The story told about The El Dorado Promise. “Thanks to Murphy Oil and their commit- ment to education and the future of El Dorado, the Promise
Promise 10th AnniversAry
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