Special Feature
How can you leave a legacy that lasts? Trudy Cathy White, daughter of Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, will explore this question and more on February 14, 2024 at the Samford University Legacy League’s Scholarship Luncheon. This annual event raises funds for students facing challenging financial needs.
As a Samford University graduate, White welcomes any opportunity to return to her alma mater. “Samford is especially important to me because I met my husband, John, there in Birmingham while he was a student and I operated our local Chick-fil-A restaurant in Central Plaza Mall,” she says, adding, “I’m honored to have been invited back by the Legacy League to share at the upcoming luncheon.”
White is the author of four books including her latest release, A Legacy that Lasts: Preserving and Transferring Your Family Values. White shares that the Lord first placed writing this book on her heart nearly ten years ago after her parents, Truett and Jeanette Cathy, passed away just 10 months apart. “As the only daughter, much of the task of cleaning through my parents’ earthly possessions fell to me,” she says. Through laughter, tears, and memories, “I began to realize the greatest inheritance my parents left me was not physical or monetary… it was their legacy. The life they had lived.” She explains that this experience caused her and her husband to evaluate and alter how they spent their time, how they parented, and more. White adds that she began speaking on this topic and John encouraged her to write a book about it in order to share the lessons they learned and the tools they discovered.
At the Scholarship Luncheon, White will dive into some of the tools she and John discovered for leaving a legacy. “To use a Chick-fil-A analogy… I’ll share a full eight count at the luncheon,” she shares, adding, “I’ll go deeper into some of the tools John and I have used to preserve and transfer our family values and share some fun stories along the way.” White encourages anyone to attend the Legacy Luncheon to also hear the encouraging testimonies from students whose lives have been impacted by the Legacy League. “The last luncheon I attended brought me to tears hearing directly from the students who would otherwise be unable to attend college, let alone a private school like Samford,” White says.
The Scholarship Luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. at a country club in Vestavia. To learn more about the scholarship program and to make lunch reservations, visit www.samford.edu/legacyleague.
Read more about Trudy Cathy White’s family and faith here. Get her recipe for Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings here.
-Melissa Armstrong
