Ginna Walker Bowman has been named as the Chair of the 2019 PJC Annual Fund which will kick off later in the fall. This marks the seventh year of the Annual Fund which has raised over $2.5 million to address the many pressing needs of the students and College. A member of the PJC Class of 1960, she currently serves on both the Paris Junior College Board of Regents and PJC Alumni & Friends Association.
“The two years I spent at PJC were wonderful,” said Mrs. Bowman. “I had outstanding instructors and made lasting friendships there. I look forward to leading the 2019 PJC Annual Fund.”
“It is such an honor to have Ginna leading our Annual Fund Campaign,” said Dr. Anglin. “As a member of our Board of Regents, she truly understands how additional resources strengthen the College’s mission of being the educational provider of choice for our region.”
Derald Bulls, Director of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs at PJC said she is known for her community involvement.
“Mrs. Bowman is such an advocate for PJC and has been such a constant encourager to me. She believes in PJC and has been generous through the years in creating opportunities to assist students through scholarships.”
A graduate of Paris High School, Mrs. Bowman attended PJC on band and journalism scholarships. Among her honors as a student, she worked on The Bat, the student newspaper, and served as editor of the yearbook, The Galleon. She was selected as the Band Queen, class favorite, elected to the student government association, president of the Texas Junior College Press Association, member of Phi Theta Kappa, and received the coveted Distinguished Service Award.
Mrs. Bowman went on to earn her BA and MA degrees in journalism and English from East Texas State University, now Texas A&M University-Commerce. While there she was named as the editor of the yearbook, The Locust, a member of Chi Omega sorority, and graduated summa cum laude.
She began her teaching career in Sherman in 1961 after marrying Dr. Larry Walker. She would later teach at Highland Park High School in Dallas and edited The Iatros, the Southwestern Medical School yearbook. The couple returned to Paris in 1969 and Dr. Walker was a well-known and loved physician in the community, passing away in 2004.
With a strong interest in education, Mrs. Bowman served eight years on the Paris ISD board, including terms as president and secretary. She currently is completing her seventh consecutive year on the PJC Board of Regents and served another three years previously before moving out of her district for a time.
She has given of her time to the initial “gifted and talented advisory board” of PISD, and she and her late husband, Dr. Walker, were honored by the District in 2003 at the “I Love Paris” Gala.
In the community, she has been active in many organizations including the St. Joseph’s Community Foundation Board, Young Life of Lamar County, Paris Visionaries in Preservation, Lamar County Child Welfare Board, and Downtown Food Pantry.
Other organizations she has been involved in are Fun ‘n Flowers Garden Club, Cosmos, Lydia Bible Club, Artist Guild of Lamar County, and Tempo Music Club.
In 2010, she married Jay P. Bowman and they were active at First United Methodist Church where Mrs. Bowman sang in the choir, was a Sunday School teacher, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Bowman passed away in 2014. She currently is a member of Calvary United Methodist Church, sings in the choir, teaches, and serves on the Board of Trustees.
She has three children, Callie Thompson, Stephen Walker and wife Terri Leigh of Paris, and Jennifer McDonald and husband, Don, of Fort Smith, Ark.; three step-children, and is “Nana” to twelve grandchildren.
