Family-Owned Construction Company's Scholarships for Clemson Students

A $600,000 gift from the nonprofit foundation Guanacaste Ventures will create scholarships for students who are majoring in architecture, construction science and management, and engineering at Clemson University in South Carolina. The donation was made by Bree Pattillo, CEO of Pattillo Construction, in honor of her grandfather, H.G. Pattillo, who passed away in February this year and was the chairman and CEO of the Georgia-based construction company.

The gift will be disbursed over three years and distributed evenly among the three departments starting with the 2024-2025 academic year, Clemson News reports.

“My grandfather pretty much raised me, and he always explained that education gives people opportunities,” Pattillo said.

H.G. Pattillo, who passed away in February 2023, was the Chairman and CEO of Pattillo Construction. H.G.’s father and brother, Dan, founded the company in 1950 with $2,000 in a mason jar saved from cotton farming. Under H.G.’s leadership, the company experienced exponential growth in DeKalb County, Georgia, focused on building warehouses.

Along the way, H.G. founded Guanacaste Ventures, which was established to create educational opportunities like the ones it is now supporting for Clemson University students.

“It’s continuing his legacy,” Bree said

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