Alumni extend generosity with another $1 million gift

Impressed by the tremendous strides the College of Business has made over the past few years, Brian (FIN ’97) and Cortney Williams (FIN ’98) recently invested another $1 million in its preeminence. A portion of their gift – $250,000 – establishes the Williams Family Classroom in Legacy Hall, the college’s future home. This gift follows a $1 million bequest they made to the college in 2018.

“We believe in the College of Business leadership and their vision for the future, including the new building, and the importance of breaking into the Top 25 business schools in the nation,” Brian said. “We also understand the challenges of raising funds, and that once you have a new building, it takes a significant continued capital investment to maintain it. The timing was right for us to help out, and we are fortunate to be able to do so.”

With the remainder of their latest gift, Brian and Cortney created the Williams Family Endowed Scholarship Fund for undergraduates, the Williams Family Endowed Fellowship Fund for graduate students and the Williams Family Endowed Student Success Fund, which helps defray the cost of attending and traveling to professional conferences.

“Our intention is to ease the way for students who – as both Cortney and I did – have to work full- or part-time jobs to pay for their education,” Brian said. “In a perfect world, while in school, students should be able to focus less on working to cover their financial needs, allowing them to concentrate on their studies and take full advantage of the tremendous opportunities and resources offered outside the classroom to further enhance their professional development.”

While majoring in finance, Brian worked at Bill’s Bookstore, as a valet at the Governors Club, and had an unpaid internship at the Merrill Lynch office in Tallahassee. Cortney, also a finance major, worked full time most of her college career as a teller with Capital City Bank, later accepting a similar job with First Union National Bank (now Wells Fargo) a year before graduating.

Cortney continued to work for First Union after graduation, eventually becoming an accomplished mortgage consultant. She left banking after the birth of their first child in 2006. Brian’s first job after graduating was with Merrill Lynch, and he then took a position with First Union National Bank/First Union Securities.

Today, Brian is CEO of Crown Asset Management, LLC, a professional receivables management and purchasing firm specializing in distressed consumer receivables, which he founded in 2004. The company, based in Duluth, Georgia, was named to Florida State’s 2020 Seminole 100 list, which recognizes the fastest-growing businesses owned or led by Florida State alumni.

Brian and Cortney are lifetime members of the FSU Alumni Association, which they joined shortly after graduating. Cortney has been a member of the Women for FSU since its inception, and Brian has participated in the FSU Executive Roundtable in Atlanta since its creation. Both have been members of the Seminole Boosters and season ticket holders for more than 20 years, six of which Brian served on the Seminole Boosters Board of Directors. They were among the boosters honored in October 2018, during the FSU vs Clemson football game, for their contributions to athletics. Additionally, Brian and Cortney recently made a significant commitment to Seminole Boosters in support of the Renaissance Campaign, an effort to raise funds in support of a championship future for the football program.

In addition to their gifts, the Williamses hosted alumni and friends at a 2018 Atlanta event at which Dean Michael Hartline unveiled the architectural design of Legacy Hall and the vision for the future of business education at Florida State.

“We are in awe of Brian and Cortney,” Hartline said. “They looked for ways to help the college reach its goals and realize its vision and came through in an extraordinary way. We can’t thank them enough for everything they do for us.”

By Barbara Ash