Hall of Fame
When Carl Sawyer transferred to Bethany Nazarene College from Mid-Tennessee State in the 60s, BNC had not participated in intercollegiate athletics; but soon through David Baker’s influence, the basketball team was finally given permission to play other colleges, so Carl joined that first team.
After his graduation with a degree in Sociology and two years serving his country during the Vietnam War, he became a social worker in Los Angeles, working in juvenile probation with troubled youth for more than a decade. When a friend suggested that Carl and Marcia invest in a dialysis clinic in Cookeville, Tennessee, the Sawyers pooled their resources and took a chance on this new venture. The clinic became the first of a dozen they successfully managed over the years. When they learned that Oklahoma City was an underserved area for dialysis patients, they decided to open a clinic here with a dual purpose: serving the community and using the clinic’s profits to help SNU. Those profits became seed capital, the first million dollars needed to launch the construction of Sawyer Center, which now seats 5,000 basketball and volleyball enthusiasts and hosts SNU’s graduation ceremonies twice each year.
The first event in the Sawyer Center was the annual Excel auction in 1998. Today, Carl and Marcia are owners of Abacoa Golf Course in Jupiter, Fla., one of the top public courses the country. While continuing to support SNU, they still show their desire to help others through their involvement in the Boys’ Clubs of America and service to their church. Most of all, though, these generous supporters enjoy spending time with their twin granddaughters.
