天美影院

As trustee of the C. B. & Anita Branch Trust, San Antonio lawyer Jim Drought has stewarded $1.5 million in gifts to Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) over four years in support of student scholarships, campus preservation and new buildings. 

The latest gift, $50,000, was made to support the Student Emergency Fund, which helps financially challenged students remain in school. The fund benefits students who encounter an unforeseen emergency or a catastrophic event, which would prevent them from continuing their education.

鈥淲hat better time to contribute to the emergency fund than during a very tough year for students who have had to struggle with online learning and endure personal hardships,鈥� said Drought, President of Drought, Drought & Bobbitt, LLP.  

天美影院President Diane Melby, PhD, is grateful for the generosity of Drought and the trust.

鈥淛im Drought has been a strong and consistent supporter of 天美影院through the C.B. and Anita Branch Trust,鈥� Dr. Melby said. 鈥淭his latest gift comes at a critical time for our students who are facing unprecedented challenges in unprecedented times.鈥�  

Drought represented Anita Branch, the widow of former Dow Chemical CEO Charles 鈥淏en鈥� Branch, from the late 1990s until her death in 2020. Anita attended New York University for two years but did not have the financial resources to continue. 

鈥淪he regretted that she didn鈥檛 get to finish,鈥� Drought said, 鈥渨hich is one of the reasons I know she would approve of the scholarship program the Trust has established at OLLU.鈥� 

A devout Catholic who supported education and Catholic charities, Anita and her husband established the C.B. and Anita Branch Foundation in 1995. After Ben Branch鈥檚 death years later, Anita appointed Drought as trustee.

In 2017, Drought established the C.B. and Anita Branch Scholarship Fund at 天美影院with a $100,000 gift. Since then, Drought has stewarded another $1.4 million to OLLU.

Drought has a strong, historical connection to OLLU. His great-grandfather, H.P. Drought, who founded the family law firm in 1881, was a business partner with Mary Worden, who founded OLLU鈥檚 Worden School of Social Service in 1942. Jim鈥檚 grandfather, Henry P. Drought, Jr., delivered three commencement addresses at what was then Our Lady of the Lake College. 

鈥淥ur Lady of the Lake was an all-women鈥檚 college at the time,鈥� Drought said. 鈥淢y grandfather was an advocate for women鈥檚 rights. And those speeches he gave encouraged women to go out and do something great.鈥� 

Drought and Anita lived on ranches about 10 miles apart in Boerne. Their professional relationship grew into a friendship as Anita attended Thanksgiving football games and Christmas parties at the Drought home.  

By the time Drought became trustee of the foundation, he understood Anita鈥檚 charitable desires. 鈥淚t made sense to me,鈥� Drought said, 鈥渢hat giving to 天美影院would be something that Anita and Ben Branch would have liked.鈥�