Garry Watkins

Garry Watkins

President, Wabuck Development Company and Clayton Watkins Construction Co., Inc.

Garry Watkins sees the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College Foundation as a way to help the college achieve its goals.

“A foundation can do a lot of things that the school itself cannot, so it’s important to have an organization that is more flexible and can be much more dynamic,” he said.

Watkins is president of Wabuck Development Company and Clayton Watkins Construction Co., Inc., of Leitchfield. He graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1975 with a major in accounting, and founded the accounting firm now known as Buckles, Travis, and Hart. In 1982, he developed his first apartment complex and formed Wabuck Development Company to develop affordable housing; Clayton Watkins Construction Co., Inc. to construct affordable housing; and Homeland, Inc. to manage the housing.

“ECTC’s name is constantly coming up as a player and as a resource,” Watkins said. “It’s important to me to learn more about the college and what it can do.”

Watkins considers ECTC to be a huge economic driver for the entire region it serves.

“ECTC is providing a lot of vocational and technical skills that are greatly needed in the economy we’re dealing with,” he said. “The Foundation can help to empower the students and the community it serves to reach their full potential.”

Watkins also serves as vice president of Grayson County Healthcare Foundation Board; secretary/treasurer of Grayson County Hospital District Board; chairman of the Western Kentucky University Foundation Board; and vice chairman of The Cecilian Bank Board. He and his wife, Linda, live in Leitchfield. They have four children.