FEBRUARY MARCH 1999 
$1 Million Gifts
SPRAGUES
After a stint in the Air Force, Gordon Sprague chose FSU because of its recreation-management program. Sprague is choosing FSU once again - this time with a $1-million gift that will go toward a new training center and equipment for athletes.
"Florida State represents academic excellence and athletic supremacy," Sprague said. "Seeing the facilities, Bette and I realized how much we lacked compared to other universities and other premier facilities, be they amateur or pro."
Gordon and Bette moved to Tallahassee for his education.
"I was married, and failure was not an alternative," he said. "We also had two children. We used to go to some fraternity parties, but that wasn't as important as going to school." After he graduated in 1965, the Spragues moved south to West Palm Beach.
"I ran a major parks system for 20 years," he said. "I ran the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville for 10 years. I worked for the city that owns and operates those public facilities."
Today Sprague is a senior vice president and national sales manager of AIM Distributors.
"I love my job," Sprague said. "When I was at FSU it never dawned on me that I'd be doing this. It's funny how you're led in life. After working in government for many years, I went to work for a guy who owned the Royals, because he used to have to negotiate his leases with me (to use the city's stadium). I became his CEO I went from there to mutual funds."
But the Spragues never forgot the needs of FSU athletes.
Bette Sprague, a lifelong tennis competitor, explained the Spragues' reason for the gift: "The facility badly needs updating (and) it is not something you can just do once and let it go."
"But first off we need to be known for a great university as an academic venue," Gordon said. "National championships and all those other things are only sports, and they are only a small part of life. And people who come to FSU for academics or sports or both enjoy them and move on." - Bayard Stern
REINHARDS
What motivates a young couple to donate $1 million to a "young" university?
Don, 38, and Sarah Reinhard both went to early FSU games when you could buy an end-zone ticket and sit at the 50-yard line. Don played high school football in Tallahassee and had dreams of playing for FSU.
Sarah was born and raised in Tallahassee and always kept up with the Seminoles.
She met Don at FSU, where he had a job serving meals at her sorority (Alpha Delta Pi).
Don became a football fan instead of a player and gave his energy to learning finance at Florida State's College of Business. He earned a bachelor's degree in finance in 1984 and came back to get an MBA in 1991.
His school work paid off. Now he's a vice president of the investment advisory firm of Mowell Financial Group in Tallahassee.
Sarah studied marketing at FSU and earned a bachelor's degree the same year Don did. Now she's director of legislative affairs for the Florida Lottery.
"We wanted to give back for what Florida State and Florida State athletics have meant to us," she said. "We have been intimately involved in Florida State athletics since we were kids growing up in Tallahassee."
Don is the new chairman of the Seminole Boosters.
"Our (male) alumni base is young," he said. "Just because our alumni group is younger, our expenses are no less than Michigan and Ohio State and USC or anyone else.
"All of us have to think about where we want to see FSU in 20 years. It's only going to get there with our help. There is no white knight out there, just us.
"The University Center and stadium look really good from the outside, but when you start looking where the athletes are - we are not up to where we should be." - Bayard Stern