Linda Dupree and Fred Haines
provide scholarships, which are the lifeblood of the athletic program. “If people have the ability to give, they should,” she said. “We give to many charities, including Seminole Boosters Inc., because we believe in the opportunity the scholarship provides.” The Duprees were Golden Chief donors early on and have been generous contributors in many areas. Over 20 years ago Linda met another coaching legend on the Bobby Bowden Tour. She loved Coach Bowden’s competitiveness and his warm personable nature. Becoming friends with the coach sparked an interest in
investing in the program, and she wanted to share his compassion while building a winning program. Linda Dupree endowed the first Bobby Bowden Scholarship in honor of Cecil Dupree. Since then she has also contributed to the Winning Edge Campaign, which funded the Football Indoor Training Facility, and the Legacy Brick campaign as well as becoming a MICCO (million dollar member). One of the things that Dupree most enjoys is the tradition of meeting the student athletes and their families. She remembers those days when her family was trying to get established and how
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valuable this support was. Consequently she developed long-standing relationships with the recipients of the Bobby Bowden scholarships. One of the early relationships the Dupree family established was with Seminole Wide Receiver Coach Lawrence Dawsey, going back to his playing days on Bowden’s team. “Lawrence worked for us two summers on the plow crew. He and my son, Chris, worked out in that hot summer sun. It was a hard job,” said Dupree. Then she added with a smile, “He would always say he was going to make sure he stayed at Florida State and got his degree, because this work was too hard.” Dawsey, an All-American receiver and a seven-year NFL veteran, is very appreciative of the opportunity he was given by the Duprees and the way Linda continues to help the football program. He said, “Linda is a great fan and generous supporter of Florida State. She and Cecil were always kind and welcomed me every summer when I was a student. She is a wonderful person, and we are happy to have her on our team.” In 1996 Linda and Cecil sold Graceba to their children and retired to the beach in Panama City where they could enjoy their boating and beach living. While that was a change in lifestyle one thing has not changed for Linda Dupree. She continues to be one of the world’s best Seminole fans and looks forward to driving over from the beach and continuing the tailgating tradition for home games. She attends some away games and the Seminole Bowl games as well. A couple of years ago the university asked the Dupree family to engage in the exciting tradition of lighting Osceola’s spear at the Unconquered statue on Friday evening before a home football game. For the family it was an opportunity to light the flame that would lead the way to victory in the game. For Linda Dupree that flame had already been burning for a very long time. SB
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