Audrey and Harold Trumpower’s love for Carroll County lives on through their family foundation.
Despite creating one of the largest family foundations in Carroll County, Harold Glen and Audrey G. Benson Trumpower were never ones to flaunt their wealth.
“They were very frugal and very disciplined,” recalls Charles Stoner, who served as Mr. and Mrs. Trumpower’s family attorney from 1971 until their deaths in 2003 and 2018 respectively. “Harold treated himself to a new Cadillac every three years, and once a year he’d take his wife to the jewelry store to pick out a gift. That was as lavish as they got.”
Instead, the Trumpowers chose to direct their good fortune into their namesake foundation, designating 80 percent of its distributions to education; 15 percent to healthcare; and five percent to animal welfare—with the caveat that all distributions had to stay in, and benefit the people of, Carroll County. Carroll Hospital and Carroll Hospice were fortunate to be among the first beneficiaries.
One gift—a $250,000 pledge—will support the new patient care wing at Dove House, Carroll Hospice’s inpatient facility. The wing will be named in the couple’s honor when it opens this year. “Harold had been a patient at Dove House, so Audrey knew firsthand the value it brings to the community,” explains Stoner.
A second $250,000 pledge will fund continuing education programs for healthcare providers and staff at Carroll Hospital. “There is nothing more important to a hospital than retaining well-trained and highly qualified employees,” explains Lee Primm, who sits on the Trumpower Foundation board with Stoner. “Through the gift of education, we’re putting our fingers directly on the pulse of quality healthcare in Carroll County, which was the intent of Audrey and her husband.”
“We wanted to choose the organizations that we know will have the biggest impact, and the hospital certainly fits the bill,” adds Lee Sturgill, the Trumpowers’ longtime accountant who also sits on the board. “I think Harold and Audrey would be very proud to see what their legacy is creating. Quietly proud—but proud.”
From the Carroll Hospital 2020 Annual Report. Visit carrollwinstogether.org to learn more.
Left to right: Lee Primm, Carroll Yingling, Lee Sturgill and Charles Stoner. Yingling, Sturgill and Stoner were trusted advisors to the Trumpowers and helped form the family foundation. They recruited Primm to sit on the board in 2018.
