Team Mentality

Teams win championships, not individual players.

Martin Haymon, a 1971 alumnus of LSU's flagship campus, is taking what he calls a team approach with his donation to LSU. Haymon's parents, Derryl and Helen Gold Haymon, instilled in him a philanthropic spirit and a passion for LSU. They were avid supporters of LSU, endowing scholarships and professorships and giving generously to the LSU Alumni Association.

His father was inducted into the LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction, and his parents received the prestigious Purple and Gold Award from the LSU Alumni Association and the President's Award in recognition of support for understanding the needs of education at LSU.

Haymon has created a planned gift that offers wide-ranging support for the university. He has endowed scholarships at LSU of Alexandria, LSU Eunice, LSU Health New Orleans, and LSU Health Shreveport, and on the flagship campus within the E. J. Ourso College of Business and the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Science.

"I wanted to include multiple units and campuses to provide opportunities in different areas and help students from different backgrounds," Haymon said. "It never dawned on me to help just one college or campus."

Haymon's gift is a celebration of education at LSU and an effort to improve Louisiana, and he hopes it will motivate others. The gift also reflects Haymon's belief that a more educated populace can lower crime rates and improve the health and well-being of Louisiana citizens.

"I am just one player on a much bigger team, but I hope I can inspire others to also do their part, because it is the total sum of many donors that can achieve real results," he said. "No way am I expecting to ever equal the greatness of what my parents did for LSU. They were the standard by which all of us children tried to follow. This has been building from my parents into me, but I didn't have the capability to do it until now."

The planned gift solidifies Haymon's wishes to have LSU in his will.

"One does not know how long one will live, so I am planning for the future," he explained. "I entrust LSU that they will make good decisions with it."

To learn how you, like Martin Haymon, can give to LSU through your will or estate plan, contact Krista Allen Raney at 225-578-4518 or kallen@lsufoundation.org.