Man Creates Scholarship to Honor Brothers

Dale Bernard made a donation to set up the "Henry and Hugh Bernard Athletic Scholarship"  in honor of his twin brothers, who are both deceased.  Bernard says their support and encouragement were pivotal factors in him attending and graduating from the university. 

The gift occurred during a luncheon attended by family members and NSU representatives, headed by President Dr. Randall J. Webb and Vice President of External Affairs Jerry Pierce.

Also in attendance were Louie Bernard and Emma Bernard Pilcher, whose father was Henry, and John Bernard, Barry Bernard, and Rita Bernard Elkins (and husband, Don), whose father was Hugh. There were seven children in Henry's family and 12 in Hugh's.

The twin brothers helped their younger brother make it through college after their father, a barber, suffered a stroke and became disabled. The Bernard family had 10 children.

Demons' sports legend Johnnie Emmons, a friend of Bernard's since 1947, joined the luncheon. Also representing NSU were athletics director Greg Burke, associate athletics director Dr. William Broussard, and interim director of alumni and development Drake Owens.

"The NSU Athletic Department is most appreciative of Dale Bernard's generous support which will continue to develop the athletic scholarship endowment for Demon and Lady Demon student-athletes," said Burke. "Dale is a sports enthusiast who truly appreciates the value of an athletic program to its university and through his generosity, he is ensuring that the great tradition of NSU Athletics will have an even brighter future.

"It is so appropriate that Dale has chosen to honor his twin brothers, Henry and Hugh, for the role they played in encouraging him to pursue a college degree. The scholarship Dale has established will truly provide educational future opportunities for young men and women to follow in his footsteps and earn a degree at NSU which will benefit them for the rest of their lives."

It is the 16th endowed scholarship added to NSU's Endowed Athletic Scholarship program in the past two years, increasing the total to 52 scholarships supported by the endowment fund. The total amount in the scholarship endowment has increased nearly 30 percent during the same period.

Bernard, a 1953 College of Business graduate of Northwestern, has been a State Farm Insurance agent in the Lake Charles area for many years. The 77-year-old is an avid outdoorsman who loves to fish and hunt.

Next year, he plantrs to establish a scholarship in the College of Business in the names of his two sisters, the late Esther Bernard Reed and Melba Bernard Allison, who attended Louisiana Normal, which was the university's name until 1944.