The founder of one of the nations largest family restaurant chains will be on the West Virginia University campus Tuesday (Oct. 7) to visit the proposed site of an equine stall barn that will form the foundation of a new academic program in equine sciences.

Bob and Jewell Evans and the Bob and Jewell Evans Foundation recently made a donation of 20 horses and $75,000 to WVU s Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences to promote the creation of an undergraduate degree minor in equine managementan in-demand academic discipline. The funds will be used to build the barn at the Davis Colleges Animal Sciences Farm in Morgantown.

Evans, founder of Bob Evans Farms Inc., will visit the barn site Tuesday at 1 p.m. to discuss progress on the proposed academic minor with WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr., Provost Gerald Lang and Davis College Dean Cameron Hackney.

This gift from the Evans family is an outstanding beginning in our progress towards offering this minor in equine management,Hackney said.Students have been asking us for years to offer a program in this field, but the expense involved has been a hindrance in its development. Now, thanks to the Evanses, future WVU students will have new opportunities.

The horses15 mares, two stallions and three geldingsare currently being boarded at Potomac State College of WVU at Keyser. Evans visited WVU s regional campus Monday (Oct. 6).

According to Sandy Smith, Agriculture and Forestry Coordinator at Potomac State, the quality of the bloodlines runs deep, representing such outstanding sires as Peppy San Badger, Mr. Gun Smoke, Organ Grinder, Doc Bar, and Freckles Playboyall premiere cutting and reining horses in the quarter horse business.

While equine management is fast becoming a popular academic program, the horse industry is also seen an increasingly powerful economic engine for West Virginia. Federal money has been obtained for the creation of a horse park and multi-use facility at Mylan Park in Morgantown. A $6 million facility, the Peace Point Equestrian Center is under construction in Brooke County and will employ approximately 25 full- and 100 part-time employees.

The American Horse Council conducted a study placing the total impact of the equine industry on the U.S. gross domestic product at $112.1 billion, generating $4.9 billion in tax revenue. The nations horse industry involves over 7 million people as owners, employees, service providers and in other roles.

WVU Extension and Davis College faculty recently initiated a study to determine the industrys economic impact on the state. The study will analyze the direct and indirect economic impact the industry has throughout West Virginia in terms of employment, taxes, sales, tourism and quality of life of horse owners and enthusiasts.

Bob Evans Farms Inc. owns and operates more than 500 full-service, family restaurants in 22 states, including two in Morgantown. Bob Evans Restaurants are primarily located in the East North Central, mid-Atlantic and Southern United States, while Owens Restaurants operate in Texas. The company is also a leading producer of pork sausage and other convenience food items under the Bob Evans and Owens brand names.

The gift to WVU is not the Evansesfirst philanthropic effort in the Mountain State. The Bob and Jewel Evans Foundation has contributed $150,000 to the West Virginia Access Center for Higher Education, which focuses its efforts on increasing the college-going rate of West Virginia school districts. The Evanses have also donated $25,000 to the West Virginia FFA Foundation. Bob Evanss father, Stanley Evans, began his career as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Bud, W.Va.

Beyond his philanthropic efforts, Bob Evans is a staunch proponent of preserving family farms through innovative production methods, including intensive grazing. The method requires rotation of livestock through a series of fenced forage pastures, reducing equipment and feed costs by making best use of renewable resources. The Davis College, in collaboration with WVU Extension, Virginia Tech, and the USDA , is involved in a multi-disciplinary research project on pasture-finished beef. The goal is to develop innovative beef-cattle production systems appropriate to Appalachian resources.

The Evans gift was made to the Davis College through the WVU Foundation, a private, non-profit corporation that generates and provides support for WVU . It is currently conducting a $250 millionBuilding GreatnessCampaign on behalf of the university. A five-year effort, the campaign has generated $275.2 million in gifts and pledges and concludes Dec. 31, 2003.

Bob Evans Farms Inc. Fact Sheet Courtesy of Bob Evans Farms Inc.

* SCOPE OF BUSINESS * Bob Evans Farms Inc. owns and operates full-service, family restaurants in 22 states. Bob Evans Restaurants are primarily located in the East North Central, mid-Atlantic and Southern United States, while Owens Restaurants operate in Texas. The company is also a leading producer of pork sausage and other convenience food items under the Bob Evans and Owens brand names.

In fiscal 2003 the company sales totaled more than $1.1 billion. Of these sales, 82 percent was generated from restaurants and the remaining 18 percent from food products. The Bob Evans Farms NASDAQ trading symbol is BOBE .

Restaurant At Bob Evans Restaurants, quality homestyle food and friendly service are trademarks. From classic breakfast favorites like sausage, eggs and hotcakes, to tasty Wildfire BBQ line of products, Bob Evans has something for everyone. They strive to deliver customer satisfaction by using the same philosophy they’ve had since the beginningquality food and service in a friendly atmosphere.

Separate smoking and non-smoking sections and special access for people with disabilities are available. Senior citizen and children’s menus, as well as Braille and large-print menus are also available.

At Bob Evans Restaurants they provide quality food at a fair price. The average check per guest for breakfast is $5.54, lunch is $6.20 and dinner is $6.71.

Bob Evans Farms Inc. currently owns and operates more than 500 full-service Bob Evans and Owens Restaurants in the 22-state area of: Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Missouri, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Iowa, New Jersey, Delaware, Kansas, Mississippi and Texas.

Food Products From the variety of their flavored sausages to our biscuits, home fries and bacon (just to name a few), grocery customers can enjoy the fresh quality of Bob Evans food products at home every day. When time is running short, Bob Evans has a wide variety of frozen Homestyle Recipe entrees, fresh deli-style salads and convenient, microwaveable sandwiches. Consumers know they can count on the food products division to uphold Bob Evans’consistent high-quality standards and unique farm-fresh taste.

Bob Evans retail food products are sold under the Bob Evans and Owens Country Sausage. Our food products are delivered to more than 13,300 grocery stores in 30 states.

Bob Evans Farms Inc. has food production facilities in Hillsdale, Mich.; Galva, Ill.; Bidwell, Springfield and Xenia, Ohio; and Richardson, Texas.

Bob Evans Farms subsidiaries include: Owens Country Sausage, a regional food products company based in Richardson, Texas; acquired on Jan. 16, 1987.

* HISTORY * In 1948, company-founder Bob Evans made sausage at his southeastern Ohio farm for the 12-stool, 24-hour restaurant he owned in nearby Gallipolis, Ohio.

In 1953, a group of Bob Evans’friends and family recognized the growing demand for his sausage, became business partners and founded the company.

Bob Evans Farms became a publicly held company June 6, 1963. Reincorporated in Delaware in 1985, the company’s headquarters is located in Columbus, Ohio.

Company founder Bob Evans retired from the company in 1986 and currently lives on his farm in Gallia County, Ohio. Bob is very active in the community through his support of 4-H and FFA youth programs, wildlife preservation and programs to benefit family farms.

* FARM * The nearly 1,000-acre Bob Evans Farm, in Rio Grande, Ohio, is a tourist destination featuring the first Bob Evans Restaurant; the Homestead, a home on the National Register of Historic Places where Bob and his wife, Jewell, raised their six children; a log cabin village; hiking; camping; and several special events throughout the year including the Bob Evans Farm Festival in October.