The Sherrod W. France Life Member Service Award: Chuck Brown

 

By Tamara Linse 

 

Chuck Brown embodies the very best of what it means to be a Wyoming alum. 

Chuck and his wife Kate became lifetime members of the University of Wyoming Alumni Association immediately after graduation. Less than a decade later — from 1969 to 1970 — Chuck served as president of the UWAA, a role that reflects his deep commitment to the organization and its mission. Over the past seven decades, he has remained consistently involved as a leader, volunteer and enthusiastic supporter. Chuck’s service to UW extends far beyond the alumni association as he served on the UW Board of Trustees and as its president. 

The Browns both graduated from UW in the early 1960s — Chuck with bachelor’s in business administration and Kate with English secondary education. Chuck enrolled at UW after serving in the U.S. Army in Korea. 

Chuck dedicated his career to the C.H. Brown Company, the Wheatland-based business founded by his father in 1949. Chuck and Kate grew it into a successful enterprise that finances and leases agricultural, construction and transportation vehicles across Wyoming and the surrounding states. 

The Browns have held season football tickets for 50 consecutive years and continue to support the university through generous contributions to athletics, the College of Business, the College of Education and the UWAA. Chuck was awarded the UW Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011. 

Graduation wasn’t the end of Chuck Brown’s relationship to UW — it was just the beginning of a lifetime of service that would impact countless students, faculty and fellow alumni. 

“I just found early on that I enjoyed being helpful,” Chuck says. “A lot of people use the words ‘pay it back’ — that’s what it’s about, I think.”