Fort Lewis College Annual Reports Fall & Winter Issue 2013 | Page 10

ing for me because I was
working with people who
had gone to the Old Fort
(Roberta Barr was such
an important voice on
our board), as well as
grads who were similar
to me and wanted to
give back, and current
students who were
filled with ambition.
It was a great combination. The Foundation Board is a much
larger picture with
more responsibilities. It is an honor
to be a part of this
esteemed board;
we all have the
same goal of
enriching the
lives of young
adults through
education.

Terry Bacon
Debra Parmenter
The Longtime FLC Boosters
and Board Members Give
a Peek Into Their Lives and
Thoughts About FLC

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ou both have lived in Durango for a
number of years and experienced high levels of
business success. During that time your involvement with Fort Lewis College has grown as well.
Debra, as a graduate of Fort Lewis College, how
did your college experiences prepare you for
your career and other areas of your life?
When I attended Fort Lewis College in the mid
to late 1960s, it was much s maller with enrollment around 1,400 students. It seemed to be
one big family where you knew many of the
students and had one-on-one contact with your
professors. There was a bonding that was such
a rare commodity, and I will cherish those fond
memories forever. When I think back about my
college days, it makes me smile; I really don’t
recall any moment when the thought “I wish I
wasn’t here” entered my head.
What have you enjoyed about serving on the
Alumni and Foundation Boards?

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Keeping in contact with the pulse of the college.
Being on the Alumni Board was very reward-

Terry, as a business leader in the
community, what attracted you to become more
involved with the Fort Lewis College Foundation Board of Directors?
I wanted to be involved in the Fort Lewis
College Foundation for two reasons. First,
higher education has played a large role in my
life and has given me many opportunities. I
graduated from a prestigious institution (the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point) and later
received a graduate degree from the American
University. So serving on the board of the FLC
Foundation has been one important avenue for
me to help others achieve their goals in higher
education. Second, I’ve made the Durango
community my home, and Fort Lewis College is
critically important to the health and well-being
of our community. I felt that anything I could
do to strengthen Fort Lewis College would also
benefit Durango and our Four Corners region.
What will you remember from your service as
the Chair of the Board?
The pleasure of working with Dene Thomas, the
members of the Foundation staff, and my fellow
board members, all of whom are esteemed
members of our community and are as commit-

ted to the future of Fort Lewis College as I am.
What have been some of your most gratifying
moments related to Fort Lewis College?
Terry: Talking with students who have received
scholarships that the Foundation provided.
These students—and others like them at other
colleges and universities—represent the future
of our community and our nation. When we
help them achieve their dreams, we make a
substantial investment in the future of America,
and I am very proud of that.
Debra: When I see young people who are
working as waiters/waitresses, in bookstores,
or other industries and have conversations with
them I always ask if they are students at Fort
Lewis and if they like “The Fort”; hearing “I
love it” is very rewarding. What could be better
than making a positive difference in someone’s
life through education? I have always and will
always be involved with supporting education
in our community. When I graduated from The
Fort, I was an elementary school teacher and
nearly fifty years later I continue to do what I
can to enrich students’ lives.
Another gratifying moment was the opening of
the Community Concert Hall. I believe that was
the catalyst that brought the town to the hill.
We were no longer two separate places; there
was now a purpose for the residents to be more
aware of and involved with what the college
had to offer. The Center of Southwest Studies is
also such a gift to our community. I remember
when the Ballantine Collection was displayed
via a “fashion show.” I was overwhelmed by its
beauty and by the history it represented.
You have both been donors to Fort Lewis
College for many years, for which we are very
grateful. What are one or two interest areas at
Fort Lewis College for which each of you have
a special affinity and where you have chosen to
make a difference? What attracted you to those
specific areas?
Terry: I contributed to the Student Union
campaign—and specifically to the leadership
center that bears my name. Much of my professional life has been about leadership and leadership education, so when I learned that there
would be a leadership center at the new Student
Union, I was eager to contribute to it. I wanted
to do what I could to enhance students’ leadership capabilities. I’m hopeful that in future

years when some of them have become successful leaders in their organizations or communities, they will look back at their experiences in
the Dr. Terry R. Bacon Leadership Center and
say that those experiences helped shape the
leaders they have become.
I also established a scholarship in my name in
the English Department at Fort Lewis College,
and there I wanted to provide specific aid to
students of the literary and language arts. My
graduate degree is in literary studies, and that
education was instrumental in helping me
achieve my professional goals. During my
working life, I have written and published a
number of books, and throughout my life I have
been an avid reader. The intellectual richness
that I have experienced because of my literary
education has had a profound impact on me
as a person and is one of the most gratifying
parts of who I am. If I can help other students
achieve a comparable degree of satisfaction
from language and literature, then I will have
passed on something of far greater value than
my investment in these scholarships.
Debra: When I met with Sandy (Foundation
Scholarship Manager), I asked if my scholarships could be given to students who didn’t fit
into the standard boxes. Financial need was a
must and they didn’t have to be at the top of
their class, but they did need to demonstrate
a strong desire for knowledge. I guess that is
a reflection of me; I worked several jobs at one
time because my family could not help me
financially, and my grade point average was just
above average.
You have also made a commitment to include
Fort Lewis College in your estate planning.
Would you please tell us more about how you
came to that decision?
Terry: Debra and I reached a point in our lives
where it became important to think about what
would happen when we passed on. We felt that
our legacy should be based not only on what
we leave for our children but also on what we
leave to the community and, specifically, to the
institutions and organizations that have meant
the most to us. Providing a legacy gift for Fort
Lewis College is our way of thanking the college
for what it has m eant to us during our lives
and for helping to ensure that the college will
continue to thrive and provide sustenance to

the Durango community long after we are gone.
What hobbies and spare-time activities does
each of you enjoy?
Terry: I’m discovering how difficult it is to find
spare time—even in retirement! But I enjoy
scuba diving, which I do when we’re in Hawaii,
and I am spending more time with music. I
play the guitar and am relearning to play the
saxophone, which I played in a rock band
during my teenage years. I love music, and now
have the time to develop my musical abilities.
I also continue to read avidly, to write for my
blogs, and to do other writing.
Debra: In my spare time I want to spend time
with my family who live here. Having most of
our grandchildren here is such a blessing. The
other joy is to be behind a camera lens, and with
all our beautiful surroundings the difficult part
is to decide which direction to go.
What are some of your plans for the years
ahead? Will Durango continue to be your
primary residence or do you see yourself moving
out of the area?
Terry: Durango will always be our primary
residence, but we both enjoy traveling and plan
to do more of it. Last fall, we had a wonderful hiking trip to Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal.
This summer, we spent a month touring in
Ireland and Scotland. Next summer, we are
going to Africa and will return to Paris, where
we had a magical vacation several years ago.
Debra: We will never move from Durango; our
hearts have deep roots here. We love to travel
and experience new places and will continue to
do so as long as our health permits.

Click to View

VIDEO:

TERRY BACON AND DEBRA PARMENTER

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