Robert and Cheryl Marzec (KUED)

Robert and Cheryl Marzec

Lifetime supporters of public television Robert and Cheryl Marzec give generously every year to KUED Channel 7, the PBS affiliate at The University of Utah. Eleven years ago they decided to extend their support beyond their lifetimes and found it was as easy as putting KUED in their will.

Robert, who grew up in Ohio and moved to Utah in 1983, is a program manager for L-3 Communications. Cheryl, a native of Murray, manages her own consulting company, Marzec & Associates, and teaches part-time at Salt Lake Community College in the Department of Biotechnology. Together they own and manage a touring company, Sinbad Tours, which travels throughout the West—including the Navajo and Hopi reservations.

Through their nonprofit organization, Sumi Nungwa (a Hopi term meaning "coming together"), they provide food and other supplies to Native Elders of the Navajo and Hopi tribes on reservations in Arizona. At least twice a year the Marzecs pack their live-in van and cargo trailer with food, equipment, clothing, and tools. For the past several years they have also organized a sale of American Indian art and crafts at KUED where staff and community members can participate in early holiday shopping. Their mission is to bring together people of different cultures while helping their friends retain their culture and survive in the modern world.

Robert and Cheryl hope that their legacy gift will "keep the ball rolling" at KUED "with programming that addresses the needs and interests of the community." Having worked in television when he was a student, Robert especially appreciates KUED's excellent local productions—which often feature subjects critical to the West. "KUED is a vital part of our community," they say. "It is a local resource that brings us together, and that is a valuable service."

KUED is one of several cultural institutions at the U that reaches beyond the campus to enrich the community in very unique ways. The Marzecs' legacy gift helps to ensure a bright future for KUED for years to come.