Donor Spotlights

BellSouth

For many years BellSouth has been committed to improving the educational, economic, cultural and social service needs of our community.  BellSouth’s corporate generosity is expansive, impacting more than 160 area organizations with financial and volunteer support over the last five years, many of them annually. The company’s philanthropy has positively impacted the community in numerous special project areas including:

• Since 2001, BellSouth has annually underwritten the Caddo Parish High School Awards Recognition Dinner.  This dinner recognizes outstanding Caddo Parish high school students, their parents and principals. 
• The BellSouth Foundation awarded LSUS two significant grants ($136,000) in 1997 and 1998 to prepare K-12 classroom teachers from five parishes to successfully use the Internet as a teaching tool.
• Since 2000, BellSouth has sponsored the BellSouth Home Run Derby for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Northwest Louisiana.  The Derby is held in conjunction with the annual Sickle Cell Softball Tournament in Shreveport. 
• In April, 2003, BellSouth brought Public Television's popular "Internet Coach" to Caddo and Bossier Parish schools to deliver lessons in Internet safety for kids.

BellSouth employees/retirees are also very active in numerous local organizations where they personally make a difference in our community. For example, BellSouth and its employees/retirees funded and built a Habitat House on Fairfield Avenue in Shreveport in seven days in 1999.  BellSouth also encourages its employees to provide financial support for community needs by offering a matching gift program matching two dollars for every one dollar the employee donates.

BellSouth has not only encouraged its employees to personally contribute both time and money, but has been very supportive in encouraging its employees to take leadership roles in philanthropy and community involvement. This spirit of community support at all levels can be appreciated by the actions of Kevin McCotter, Regional Director of Regulatory & External Affairs for BellSouth Communications and an LSUS Foundation member.  As Regional Director he is responsible for regulatory and external activities in the northern region of Louisiana including Alexandria, Monroe, and Shreveport.

McCotter has not only served on the board of directors, but has been active in the fundraising efforts of numerous organizations including the United Way of Northwest Louisiana, the Christus-Schumpert Foundation, the Biomedical Research Foundation, the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, the Bossier Chamber of Commerce, the Committee of 100, the Caddo Public Education Foundation, the Independence Bowl Foundation, and the Shreveport Multicultural Center.  He has provided leadership roles in each of these organizations and had been instrumental in motivating others to support them as well.

McCotter has served in key leadership roles with education in Louisiana.  He was appointed by Governor Foster in 1999 to the Louisiana Community and Technical College Board of Supervisors which was newly created that same year and served as chairman of the board in 2000 and 2001 providing pioneering leadership to help firmly establish the first statewide system of community and technical colleges in our state’s history.  In addition to his current service on the board, he is again providing critical leadership by serving as president of Campus Facilities, Inc., the non-profit corporation that is building a new $55 million campus for Bossier Parish Community College.

He is also the past president of the Governor’s School to Work Program and past chairman of the Red River Partners School to Work Leadership Council.  He has been a great supporter of LSUS and it was through his efforts that the university has received $137,000 in teacher training grants to help area teachers receive technology training at LSUS.  In recognition of all he has meant to our community, McCotter was named by the Times as a "Leader of the New Century" in December, 2001.