3 minute read
Preparation for Service: Olivet’s Influence on Our Lives
hen Ron McSwain ’64 and Phyllis (Starner) McSwain ’63 are W asked about their support of Olivet they give a quick and decisive answer: “The quality of the product
Olivet produces is extraordinary,” they answer without hesitation.
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Ron and Phyllis feel they are living products of Olivet’s superb education. Ron majored in business and credits the entrepreneurial experience of Professor Leonard E. Anderson with equipping him to enter the University of Michigan MBA program with 30 percent advanced credit. Phyllis names Professor Virgie Stewart, a former Latin America missionary, her Spanish Instructor, as a major influence in her life. “If you think something nice about someone tell them. It may be just what they need to hear,” is advice Phyllis still practices today.
Ron and Phyllis first met at Olivet. Both were first generation students but with very different personalities and backgrounds. They realized God had a plan to bring them to Olivet and to eventually bring them together. Phyllis loved the social side of college, the formal parties, drill team, and serving as a mentor. Ron was involved in student council, the Aurora, and the “O” Club, but most fondly recalls the walks to escort Phyllis back to the dorms after she closed the campus switchboard nightly.
Following graduation, the McSwains moved to Flint, Michigan, where Ron worked for General Motors and attended the University of Michigan MBA program. Phyllis expanded her teaching career in Spanish and English from high school to middle school. In 1968, facing a potential transfer to the east coast, they chose instead to move back to Ron’s hometown of Cincinnati, to partner with Ron’s brother Ralph in expanding his floor covering business. Phyllis changed careers from fulltime teacher to full-time mom and “professional volunteer.”
In 1970 a PBS documentary on the plight of the poor in big cities completely changed their lives when they realized it was filmed in Cincinnati. Their Goddirected purpose became
serving the under-resourced in the inner city. Phyllis’ background in education equipped her to serve as the first female member on the founding board of trustees of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (CHCA). Serving on this board allowed both Phyllis and Ron to be part of one of God’s “living miracles” and though it was hard work it was also so rewarding. All 12 of their grandchildren have attended CHCA.
Ron and Phyllis McSwain
Upon stepping away from a successful floor covering business in 2009, Ron and Phyllis embarked on a new area of service. The predicament of youth in the foster care system aging out at 18 often leads to devastating results. Ron and Phyllis committed to providing needed scholarship assistance for these youth to pursue college or vocational training. Learning over the years how to steward their giving has been an adventurous learning experience, but also a very rewarding one. Ron and Phyllis feel that giving of their time, talents, and treasure has been a central piece of God’s calling on their lives. Supporting and establishing scholarships at CHCA, inner city non-profits, and at Olivet has been their mission in life.
“The beauty of scholarship assistance is that it provides support to generations long after we are gone,” Ron says.
Ron and Phyllis have been very active in establishing scholarships at Olivet. In 2000, the McSwains surprised Larry Watson ’65 during Homecoming festivities by establishing an endowed scholarship in recognition of his years of service to Olivet and the many lives he influenced. Phyllis’ driving effort to create a Class of 1963 scholarship challenged other classes to do the same. And most recently, the McSwains partnered with Dr. Jim Forshee ’79 to create the Brenda (Starner) Forshee Memorial Scholarship.
“We have been truly blessed with the joy of giving and our Olivet experience has been at the foundational forefront of making that happen,” Ron concluded. ■
