Sherwood L. Stokes provided this endowment through a bequest to support scholarships to students studying to improve and protect Florida’s environment in general, and water in particular. Stokes worked his way through Florida Southern College during the Great Depression by writing for Field and Stream, Life, and Sports Illustrated. After he earned his law degree from UF in 1948, he returned to Haines City, Fla., and started his own law firm. He became a lifelong environmental advocate and community activist. A member of the Sierra Club and Audubon Society, Stokes helped found the Save Our Lakes program and encouraged the use of treated wastewater for irrigation.

He passed away in 1998.