A U.S. Army helicopter pilot who served in Vietnam, John J. Amore (’73) came to Embry-Riddle in the 1970s to heal from his war experience and to get an education. The camaraderie and sense of belonging he found at the Daytona Beach Campus helped him transition from military to civilian life — and left an indelible impression on him.
So much so that Amore has dedicated the last decade-plus to serving the university as a trustee and made it one of his top philanthropic priorities.
In 2011, as a new trustee, he made what has become his greatest contribution to student success: the Amore Family Endowed Scholarship. To date, eight students with financial need have received scholarships from the fund.
“I hope my scholarship will help relieve some of the financial burden for students and in some cases, allow students to continue their education at Embry-Riddle,” he says.
Thanks to a new investment from Amore and the board’s Scholarship Endowment Matching Challenge, even more students will benefit from the Amore Family Endowed Scholarship in the future. The challenge provides a dollar-for-dollar match for endowed scholarship gifts (or pledges paid over a five year period) that total $100,000 or more.
With his recent gift, Amore joins fellow trustees Jim Henderson (HonDoc ’13), Joe Martin (HonDoc ’18; 74), Neal Keating and Glenn Ritchey, along with the Gonnion Family (see story) and Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler and his wife, Audrey, in accepting the scholarship challenge.
In addition to his family scholarship, Amore has made significant contributions to student programs and clubs and just last year, he spearheaded and established a matching fund of his own to create a campus memorial for fallen military heroes who are graduates.
A retired CEO for Global General Insurance for Zurich Financial Services, Amore says it is only natural that he support the university that gave so much to him at a critical point in his life. “It was a difficult time, coming back from having served in a very unpopular war. Helping me transition from that to a career in the world of business was a unique service Embry-Riddle did for me.”