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Klines endow ICC scholarship

June 12, 2017 By Thomas, Donna S. General 0

Tommy and Natalie Kline of Fulton are providing an opportunity for future Itawamba Community College students to achieve their dreams through their recent scholarship endowment.

The Tommy and Natalie Kline Endowed Scholarship will fund full-tuition for any deserving full-time student with financial need.

Tommy, an Aberdeen native, met Natalie, lifelong Fulton resident, at then-Itawamba Junior College in the spring of 1976. He returned to IJC to complete work on the associate’s degree in business, which he began a couple of years earlier when he was recruited by Tom Childs to play football at IJC. He played for Coach Dudley Miller, and then Coach Ben Jones. He said he would never have gone to college if it were not for that athletic scholarship. Tommy also later drove from Aberdeen to the Tupelo Campus two nights a week for 18 months to complete the Heating and Air Conditioning program.

Enter Natalie, who credits IJC for her significant background in science, especially chemistry, physics and zoology, all valuable for her degree and employment in the medical technology field.

The Tommy and Natalie Kline story appears to be just one about two people who met at IJC, fell in love and then married. But, there’s more.

Tommy and Natalie moved to Aberdeen, but with a grin, he said, “we had to move to Fulton because I couldn’t afford to pay the phone bill with Natalie calling her mother so often.”

The Klines, now with baby Tom, packed up and relocated. Tommy founded Kline Mechanical in April 1978, two weeks after they moved to Fulton.

The business began, and 39 years later, it continues to prosper. Tommy said he worked hard and long for a lot of years, many times on frigid Christmas days, but “I don’t work like that now.” He values work ethic and honesty, as traits for every employee, and in 2006, Tommy was named the Itawamba County Development Council’s Business Person of the Year. “He’s the most honest person I know,” said Natalie, “sometimes brutally honest.”

Both Klines value their time at the College, and recent reflections brought smiles as they reminisced about how it has changed over the years. “It’s totally changed,” they agreed. “Tuition was $100. There was a swamp where the tennis courts are today and old dorms. The College was more prep for senior college then.”

Tommy said he met a lot of friends at IJC, friends he wouldn’t have otherwise known. A lot of them are football teammates, and they continue to stay in touch. “The College has a sense of family. It’s very important to this community,” they said. “Any time anyone comes to town (Fulton), we drive them through the campus,” Natalie pointed out. “It’s the prettiest in the state.”

“Fulton is where I want to be,” Tommy said. “I don’t know anywhere else in the world I’d rather be.”

Tommy also serves on the local board of BancorpSouth, chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, past chairman of Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors and board member of Mississippi Manufacturers Association. The Klines are members of St. James Catholic Church in Tupelo.

But their life is, and has always been, family-focused. They have four children: Tom, and his wife, Staci; Matt and his wife, Parker; Leah and her husband, Martin Richardson; and Laura and her husband, Mitch McWhirter. They have 11 grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.

And 39 years later, Tommy’s work ethic, the Klines’ dedication to their family, community and the College and their generous spirit will create new opportunities for students.

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Klines endow ICC scholarship

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Klines endow ICC scholarship

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