Gene Bennett and his wife Roberta both became school teachers in the 1950s. Their jobs carried them to Elgin, Illinois where Gene could teach business and Roberta could pursue her love for teaching elementary students. When Gene’s father became ill, the couple returned to Union City to run Standard Agencies Incorporated, the family’s insurance agency.
For a short time, Gene ran the insurance business while continuing to teach, but he soon realized that this could be overwhelming. He chose to focus on Standard Agencies.
In addition to his activities in Union City, Gene was one of several community advocates for the creation of the Community Foundation of Randolph County. He and other community leaders recognized a need for such an organization which focused on giving back to the residents of Randolph County.
Before Gene’s death, he set up a fund at the Community Foundation that he was so passionate about. The Gene and Roberta Bennett Memorial Scholarship Fund provides an annual scholarship to be awarded to a Union City High School graduate interested in business or education. “This was his hometown and he simply loved Union City,” Roberta Bennett.