George Kress Foundation Pledges $60,000 to School Counts!

The George Kress Foundation Inc. announced Monday it will donate $20,000 per year for three years to the UACCM SCHOOL COUNTS! SCHOLARSHIP ENDOWMENT FUND.  Mr. George F. Kress, the founder of Green Bay Packaging Inc., established the Foundation on October 28, 1953, to help and support worthwhile causes in the communities where Green Bay Packaging Inc. has operations.

left to right, School Counts! committee members Barry
 McKuin, Patty Shipp, Todd Haynes, and Thomas
Flowers. Green Bay Packaging representatives Miles
 Lacy, Joclynn Flowers, and Dave Cawein

Green Bay Packaging Inc. began operations in 1933.  Its initial business was the manufacture of corrugated shipping containers.  Subsequently, the Company built two containerboard mills, established more than a dozen box plants and expanded into other areas, including the pressure sensitive industry.  

In Arkansas, Green Bay Packaging Inc. employs just under 500 people at four divisions, including its containerboard mill in Morrilton and its Pinecrest Lumber mill and Paper Slitting Division in Menifee.  The Company’s Fiber Resource Division, also based in Morrilton, oversees the planting and growth of plantation pine and the harvesting of timber. 

Will Kress, President of Green Bay Packaging Inc. said, “The Foundation provides us with a channel through which we can contribute to the communities in which we operate.  Not only is SCHOOL COUNTS! beneficial to the students, it will benefit all employers and the entire community.”

The SCHOOL COUNTS! initiative, announced earlier this year, was established to change attitudes about the need for higher education for all students in Conway County. The initiative will work to keep the message of School Counts! in front of students beginning at the Kindergarten level on through High School. Students who successfully meet the School Counts! Criteria will be guaranteed $1000 in tuition assistance at the University of Arkansas Community College in Morrilton.  Dr. Thomas Flowers, chair of the School Counts! Steering Committee, praised Green Bay Packaging for their contribution to the endowment. “Green Bay Packaging is one of the core businesses in Conway County. Their investment in the SCHOOL COUNTS! Initiative shows that they understand the importance of higher education and that they are committed to helping Conway County reach new levels of economic development through a better educated, more prepared workforce.” In order to fully fund the endowment with the Conway County Community Foundation (CCCF), which will ensure students receive this education assistance, one million dollars must be raised over the next four years.  CCCF is an affiliate of the Arkansas Community Foundation (ARCF).  The ARCF has been building philanthropy in Arkansas through its work with donors, nonprofits, and communities for more than a quarter of a century.  For more information, please contact Susan Dumas, CCCF Executive Director, at 501-208-3399. More information about SCHOOL COUNTS! can also be obtained from their web site www.ccschoolcounts.org