The Griffon News

“Oh happy day,” Western President, James Scanlon began his speech at the Oct. 10 press conference. “This is a special day for Missouri Western.”

Scanlon had the opportunity to announce Western’s largest private donation of $5 million by Wes and Patsy Remington.
“The contributions from Patsy and Wes are the largest private contribution ever made to Missouri Western.”

This gift will be the lead gift of the “Beyond Excellence” Initiative that Western also announced today.

“We are overwhelmed by the generosity of Wes and Patsy’s gift,” Scanlon said. “It clearly benefits students, faculty and  the region for years to come.”

Wes Remington started as a sales trainee at Anchor Serum Co. in St. Joseph in 1956 and rose to the position of president. He went on to help found several animal health companies. Those firms and their successors now employ an estimated 1,200 to 1,555 people in the St. Joseph area.

“I’ve been tied in to life sciences for 4 to 5 years in Kansas City,” Wes said. “It’s a good opportunity to see something

happen here. The primary reason we donated was to be another stimulus, with everything else that’s going on. We need to turn St. Joseph into a city instead of a town. Something besides a place on the river where Jesse James got shot.”

Patsy has her own reasons to support Western.

“Western will always have a special place in my heart,” the 1979 Western graduate said. “We’re very interested in Missouri Western, St. Joseph and life sciences.”

This gift will help make up the difference for the different projects tied in to the “Beyond Excellence” Initiative. It will help students receive many new benefits and help make Western the new American Regional University it strives to be.

“Its really an indication,” Scanlon said. “That probably the most prominent member of the life science community in our region and beyond, the confidents Wes has in the quality of what happen to students here at Western.”