Doris Spray, Great Bend, has made a substantial contribution to the College of Engineering at Kansas State University to establish the Orville “Butch” and Doris Spray Family Civil Engineering Scholarship.
The recipients of the scholarship will be undergraduate students enrolled in the Department of Civil Engineering at K-State. Preference will be given to juniors, seniors or fifth-year seniors.
The fund was created in memory of Orville “Butch” Spray, who graduated from K-State in 1961. He went on to become vice president of J.H. Shears in Hutchinson, an asphalt paving contractor. In 1976, Butch established his own company in Great Bend. Venture Corporation, also an asphalt paving contractor, began with 15-20 employees. Thanks to Butch’s management and hard work, the company — now managed by sons Chris (B.S. ’93, business) and Kip Spray, and son-in-law Bob Holt — currently employs more than 160 people. Butch passed away in September 2008.
Doris is a member of the KSU Foundation’s Presidents Club, a philanthropic leadership organization for friends and alumni of K-State. The Sprays have been loyal and generous donors over the years, with regular contributions to K-State’s Ahearn Fund and the College of Engineering’s Program Enhancement Fund.
“Our family is very pleased to be able to help K-State engineering students,” Doris said. “We know Butch would be proud.”
“We are so grateful to the Sprays, and so very honored to be able to offer our students a scholarship in Butch’s memory,” said John English, dean of the College of Engineering at K-State. “The growth of his business over the years was a testament to his careful planning and dedication, and we strive to instill these same qualities in our students today.”