Merlin Taylor UNI alum raises $1 million for scholarships By AMIE STEFFEN Merlin Taylor has learned a lot in the seventeen years he has volunteered for the Panther Scholarship Club. His outgoing personality and friendly demeanor make his job of soliciting donations for University of Northern Iowa student-athlete scholarships easier. So does his attitude toward potential donors. "I've had people say, `Oh, don't ask them, they graduated from Iowa State or Iowa; they wouldn't give to UNI,'" Taylor said. "One of my largest individual contributors is not a UNI alum." It is that combination, his work ethic, and perhaps a little luck that have allowed Taylor, a retired Information Technology Services worker at UNI, to reach an almost unheard of milestone. Since he began volunteering in 1993, Taylor has raised over $1 million in funding for the PSC, becoming only the second person in the club's history to do so. The first was Noreen Hermansen, who achieved that mark in 2007. Taylor will be honored for his achievement during halftime of the men's basketball game against Drake University Wednesday at the McLeod Center. "Merlin is just a passionate volunteer (who) I think really believes in UNI athletics and really enjoys being a part of the program," said Megan Witt, assistant director of the PSC. Although neither Taylor nor his wife, Lois, was involved in athletics at the collegiate level, both attended UNI in the late 1950s and '60s, worked at the university for years, and devoutly followed UNI sports teams before and after they retired. They also were instilled with community-minded values at young ages, inspiring them to give back later in life, Merlin Taylor said. "There's always a need for money for scholarships for the student-athletes;" he said. "That's probably one of the big reasons I got started in fundraising. Most of the student athletes are all great student athletes." That need is around $3.5 million each year, just for student athlete scholarships, said Troy Dannen, UNI director of athletics. "Merlin has certainly become a great friend, and he's a very trusted confidant;" Dannen said. "I don't think anything we ever do for Merlin can ever repay or truly express the gratitude." Taylor said he has raised most. of the $1 million since 1993 from repeat donors. He keeps spreadsheets of contributors, their amounts, and other pertinent information for his own records. He spends twenty to thirty hours per week soliciting donors during the annual campaign drive, all on a volunteer basis. "It just seemed like the proper thing to do;" Taylor said. Witt said his service speaks for itself. "He's kind of a mainstay around the athletic department;" she said. "He's a great supporter and really all we can ask for:" Copyright Waterloo Courier, January 24, 2010, page B2.
