Donor Profile: Tara Pontius

Tara Pontius comes from a family with deep ties to Montevallo. Her mother is an alum, and her oldest son, Andrew, attended for two years. Her sons’ father, Drew, and their grandfather also walked the bricks, making the University a longstanding family legacy.

The newest addition to the Falcon family is Tara’s youngest son, Jackson. The senior marketing major is active in UM’s Outdoor Scholars Program as a member of the fishing team and the shooting sports team.

“We have lived in Wilsonville since the boys were little,” said Tara, a paralegal for Morrison Honea, LLC in Columbiana. “We’re on the lake, so Jackson was always around and in fishing tournaments. He heard about Montevallo’s Outdoor Scholars Program, and that was the way he wanted to go.”

Andrew and Jackson’s grandfather started the Pontius Family Foundation with a goal of supporting whatever passions the boys pursued. With them both choosing Montevallo and Jackson finding his place in the Outdoor Scholars Program, the family was able to support both their sons and their alma mater.

“Every year since Jackson’s been there, we have donated to the Outdoor Scholars Program for them to be able to grow, and they’ve been so successful,” Tara said.

Beyond financial support, Tara goes the extra mile to provide a sense of home and community for the students.

“A lot of the kids are from out-of-state and don’t have their parents close by,” she said. “If there is a tournament nearby or if they’re at my house, I’ve always tried to do whatever I can do to help them be successful.”

Jackson greatly appreciates his family’s support of the program, saying, “They’re always supportive of whatever we’re involved in, and they’ve always helped people out, whether it be friends or people they don’t even know. They’d give the shirt off their backs to anybody who needed it.”

With the fishing team having grown to 72 anglers from 21 states, Jackson notes that it can be challenging for such a large group to get along — but the Falcons have created a unique sense of unity.

“It doesn’t matter who’s winning — we’re always happy for each other,” he said.

Tara reminds other donors that supporting others is always worthwhile, as it eventually comes back to you in some way. She and Jackson also expressed their appreciation for the Outdoor Scholars staff.

“Coach Crawford and Steve Long have a huge influence on their lives, which is very important to me,” Tara said. “In this program, they become family.”