Robert E. Lund spends much of his time thinking about something most americans go out of their way to avoid—the war on terror. Lund, a former Marine Corps aviator, is the CEO of eGistics, a Dallas-based company that provides hosting for image-based data. But his spare time is devoted to making good on a promise to the children of Marines who’ve died in the war.
After 9/11, the Alexandria, Va.-based Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation—Lund is one of its directors—pledged $20,000 scholarships to each of those children through its Heroes Tribute Scholarships program. The amount was recently raised to $30,000. The 46-year-old foundation has assets of more than $30 million and, by 2012—the group’s 50th anniversary—it hopes to raise an additional $50 million to fund its pledge.
“We are honoring the true heroes of this generation by making sure their kids can get an education, so that they can have a productive, fruitful life,” Lund says.
He attributes much of his success to his military training, which led to a job at EDS in the early ’70s. Lund went on to run several public and private corporations, but his lifelong connections from EDS ultimately led him to the scholarship foundation.
Last year, Lund reintroduced the foundation’s Dallas-area charity golf tournament. This year’s event will be Oct. 13 at the Cowboys Golf Club in Grapevine.
As of the end of June, 393 children fit the criteria for Heroes Tribute Scholarships.
“We have an obligation to take care of those kids because their dads and moms have done so much for us,” Lund says. “If we’re not going to do it, who is?”
