Donald Johnston Jr. returned home to Brundidge Wednesday to pay tribute to one who has made a difference in his life.

Johnston was the featured guest at the lunch meeting of the Brundidge Rotary Club. He was there to establish an honorary Rotary Scholarship in the name of his longtime friend and mentor, Reuben Lawrence Bowden.

In announcing the establishment of the scholarship, Johnston said he was reminded of an old saying.

“‘I have drunk from a well I did not dig. I have warmed from a fire I did not build.’ In each of our lives there are about five people that have made a difference in our lives,” Johnston said. “They might be our parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, preachers or friends. Or they might be the company commander of the National Guard.”

Johnston said when the National Guard Unit was organized in Brundidge in 1953, Lawrence Bowden was the company commander. Having grown up in Brundidge, Johnston already knew Bowden when he joined the National Guard. He knew him first as a kind and compassionate man. He knew him later as a no-nonsense, tough leader who knew where his solders were to go and made sure they got there.

“Captain Bowden was a tough disciplinarian but he was fair,” Johnston said.

“He expected a lot and he demanded that we gave a lot.”

Johnston said Bowden has continued in leadership roles in the workplace and in the community.

“Back when I heard that Lawrence had been appointed the director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, I knew we could expect him to make a lot of good things happen,” Johnston said.

“Lawrence continues to be active in his church and in his community. And he is one of my top fives. Ferdie and I are proud to establish a Rotary Scholarship in the name of our good friend, Lawrence Bowden.”

Bowden expressed appreciation to “Donald Jr. as we know him” and Ferdie for the tremendous honor.

“When you get older, it’s hard not to be emotional,” Bowden said.

“I’m proud to be called a friend of Donald Jr. What he has accomplished in his career has been amazing but he did so with calmness, persistence and generosity, not just here in his hometown but in Eufaula where he and Ferdie make their home.”

Bowden said he is deeply honored to have a Rotary Scholarship established in his name. “There is no greater way to have an impact than by giving to others, especially by advancing education,” he said.

“A college education gives graduate a leg up and we all benefit through teachers, doctors, lawyers – all the professional people in our lives.”

Bowden thanked the Johnstons for the opportunity, through the scholarship awards, to be a part of something of great importance for years to come.

Don Dickert, Brundidge Rotary president said Johnston and Bowden are “big people and big people have big hearts.”

The Lawrence Bowden Scholarship was the third that has been established by Johnston and his wife, Ferdie. In 1997, the Johnstons established the Harold Rodgers Memorial Scholarship and in 2002, they established the R.L. “Bob” Godwin Scholarship. Over the years, 35 graduating seniors at local high schools have been the beneficiaries of the scholarships the couples established.

Dickert said, a Johnston’s suggestion, the Rotary Club has formed a trust at Troy Bank & Trust for the club’s scholarship funds. Other donations have been made to the fund, making it beneficial to students and to the club.