Bob G. Sowder: Dream Maker

While serving on the Fauquier Chamber of Commerce, Bob Sowder and other community leaders were working to open a college center in Warrenton. The problem they faced was a lack of adequate facilities to house such an institution. The search was on to find someone who could afford to donate land or a facility to Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) to expand into Fauquier County.

Sowder didn’t immediately think about donating his farm, but while selling alfalfa one day, he looked at his barn in a different light. He noticed that each of the stalls had a door on it. He grabbed a tape measure and found the dimensions of the barn to be 60 x 100 feet, with the stalls making six nice-size rooms.

At the next chamber meeting, Sowder proposed the gift of his barn and an interest-free loan of $90,000 for renovations. After further discussions and consultation with his accountant, Sowder later decided to give the College both the property and money. So, in 1988, he donated his barn to LFCC and began working to renovate the building.

After pouring his time, energy and money into renovations, Sowder saw the work completed in 1988. His gift appraised at $437,000, including the three and a half acres accompanying the barn.

Sowder negotiated for — and the College was given — 50 more acres when he sold the remainder of his farm to Fauquier County. Following these negotiations and the additional land given to LFCC, the Virginia General Assembly in 1996 appropriated $7.2 million to construct the current 60,000 square-foot classroom and administrative building on the Fauquier Campus. Celebration of the opening of the new campus building occurred three years later in 1999.

“LFCC is one of the best ways for students to obtain an education and adjust to the rigors of college,” said Sowder, a current LFCC Educational Foundation Board member who has served on the Board since 1989. “I’ve always felt that an education is a way to help people pull themselves up by their boot straps.”

Sowder has continued to support LFCC monetarily throughout the years, including the development of the Bob G. Sowder Scholarship. “I believe that you get so much more than you give,” Sowder said. “I meet parents and students who have benefited from the scholarship I established, allowing them to get an education when they might not have been able to otherwise. To have someone come up to you on the street, put their arm around you, and thank you for your gift. You can’t get much better than that.”

Semiretired from his career as a realtor, Sowder is president of The Sowder Co. Inc. in Warrenton and maintains ownership of a number of farms and commercial and rental properties. He also breeds and raises thoroughbred horses.

Without Sowder’s vision and generous donations, LFCC literally would not be where it is today. “My goal in life is to give back. Every little bit can have an impact.”