By Kiley Mallard, University Advancement Communications
Amazing.
That’s how Phillip D. “Phil” King described meeting one of the recipients of his scholarships.
Phil King
“To have the opportunity to see what the scholarship is doing and to meet the person who is benefitting from it is very exciting,” says King, who is retiring as development and engagement officer for USF Sarasota-Manatee at the end of the year.
It reminded him of his close friend and philanthropic mentor, the late Betty Schoenbaum, who encouraged people to give while they are still around to see the impact of their contributions.
Schoenbaum, the widow of Shoney’s restaurant chain founder Alex Schoenbaum, helped raise tens of millions of dollars for charity, established many nonprofits to promote health and education for low-income families, and gave away thousands of scholarships, including the Alex and Betty Schoenbaum Scholarship at USF Sarasota-Manatee.
Inspired by her giving, King established the Phillip D. King Endowed Scholarship in 2018 to support Sarasota-Manatee nursing students. Schoenbaum passed away shortly after King finalized his gift, just shy of her 101st birthday, and so the King Scholarship is given in her memory.
King scholarship recipient Emma Danello is in USF’s Accelerated Second Degree program, pursuing a bachelor’s in nursing. She had earned a biology degree from USF St. Petersburg in 2021 with the intention of going to medical school.
She was shadowing a doctor when he pulled her aside and said, “You’re not a physician.” At first Danello pushed back. She had, after all, been preparing for that career nearly all her life. “You spend too much time with the patients,” the physician said. “Your role is somewhere else.”
Danello realized he was right. What she wanted most was to take care of patients and nursing would allow her to do that in ways that being a physician may not.
She enrolled in the accelerated program as the simplest way to get where she wanted to go. The King Scholarship has helped make that journey easier.
“To put it in the plainest terms, this scholarship is everything,” she says, explaining that students in her program have had careers and often have families, bills and other responsibilities to take care of. “Scholarships like this are the reason some of us are able to come back and pursue our true passions.”
Danello also discovered a surprising connection when she received the scholarship.
A Sarasota native, her roots in the area go back to her great-grandparents who settled here in the 1970s. Her mother taught at what is now Suncoast Technical College and Danello would sometimes tag along. There, she recalls meeting “Ms. Betty” at about 7 years old when Schoenbaum came to the college to award scholarships.
“I just remember the warmth she exuded and how thankful all of those students were,” she says. “So when I saw her name on this scholarship, it was like she was coming back to us again.”
King nods in agreement. “That’s one of the things that inspired me. I wanted to honor her,” he says, quoting one of Schoenbaum’s favorite sayings, “The joy of giving is the joy of living.”
Raised in rural Kentucky, King served in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 to 1971. His military service helped pay for his education at Anderson University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1972.
“Having an education was a struggle for me. If it had not been for the military, I would still be paying off student loans,” he says.
He went on to open Designs, Logistics and Strategies, LLC, where he provided business development and strategies to nonprofits and small business clients.
When he retired to Sarasota more than 20 years ago, he became active in the community, including CEO of the Glasser Schoenbaum Human Services Center. King also served on many nonprofit boards and fundraising committees, and volunteered as a VISTA member of Volunteer Manatee and at Senior Friendship Centers, CAN Community Health and Florida ALSO Youth. He has been engaged with USF Sarasota-Manatee since the mid-2000s, then was hired as a consultant with the campus’s Advancement team in 2019.
In addition to his endowed scholarship, since 2009 King has supported a variety of efforts at the Sarasota-Manatee campus, including the Global Engagement Fund, Brunch on the Bay, HospitaBull and other scholarships for students.
“I’ve been around the university for a long time. It’s basically family,” he says.
Marrie Neumer, associate vice president for University Advancement at USF Sarasota-Manatee, says King’s unwavering dedication and tireless efforts have enriched the campus and empowered countless students to pursue their dreams.
“Gratitude knows no bounds when we reflect on the invaluable service of Phil King,” says Neumer. “Thank you, Phil, for your enduring commitment to our community's growth and success.”