Profiles in Philanthropy: E. Gavin Hegg
It was an accident of fate that sent young Gavin Hegg to the University of Illinois
instead of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point when his family moved from
Stevens Point to Illinois as Gavin was finishing high school at P.J. Jacobs. Erling
Hegg met Esther Gavin at Stevens Point Normal in the early 1920's while they were
both studying to be teachers. The 1923 Stevens Point Normal Yearbook shows Erling
Hegg as a serious young man. The Yearbook line describing him says, "They that think
most make the least noise." I imagine Gavin inheriting Erling's quiet gentleness
along with his keen mind. Those traits surely helped him in his 31-year career at
Sacramento Savings Bank in California where as chairman of the board, president and
chief executive officer the bank grew from 60 employees and $60 million in assets to
over 900 employees and $3.6 billion in assets.
Along with that growth came a serious commitment to charitable giving and being
part of the community. The same 1923 Stevens Point Normal Yearbook pictures a beautiful
Esther Gavin who in eight years would become Gavin Hegg's mother. Esther Gavin's Yearbook
quotation reads: "There is nothing like a woman's grace and beauty to wake mankind to a
sense of duty." Perhaps this was one of Esther Gavin Hegg's gifts to her children, a gift
that propelled her son to immerse himself in charitable work, to make a difference wherever
possible. In 1994, he was named Sacramento Humanitarian of the Year.
When Esther Gavin Hegg moved to heaven in 1986, the Hegg scholarships in the School of
Education began. To honor her memory, Erling and son Gavin set up the scholarships. And
now that his father has passed on, Gavin honors his parents' memory, with scholarships that
make difference in the lives of those who received them and all the children they will
eventually teach. He comes all the way from California to sit with the scholarship committee
as they interview students, offering advice and encouragement even to applicants who are not
chosen. He corresponds with the award winners over the years, somehow remembering details
of their lives, even though there are now nearly 20 of them. He agreed to serve on the
UWSP Foundation Board to share his extensive philanthropic experience with our staff.
His suggestion to move the January board meeting from the UC to his patio was very well
received. His visits here have been inspirational for students and staff alike.