Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 18 January 29, 1998 - Garman receives Linxwiler Award at national conference

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Garman receives Linxwiler Award at national conference

By Sandy Broughton
E. Thomas Garman, professor of consumer affairs and family financial management in the College of Human Resources and Education has been honored with the Louis M. Linxwiler Award for his outstanding support of consumer-credit education. The award was made at the National Foundation for Consumer Credit (NFCC) annual conference held in Atlanta, Ga.
In addition to his teaching and research, Garman is also a prolific author and speaker on consumer and financial affairs. "Tom Garman has given a lifetime of service to advocate consumer and personal-finance education," said Durant Abernethy, president of NFCC. "His research on worker productivity and credit problems is especially noteworthy, and his dedication and support of money-management concepts have helped make great headway in educating and aiding consumers."
E. Thomas Garman has been a faculty member at Virginia Tech since 1975, where he teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in consumer affairs and family financial management in the College of Human Resources and Education. He was instrumental in establishing the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, a national professional organization which he served as president.
A prolific writer and researcher, Garman is the author of 20 books, including Ripoffs and Frauds: How to Avoid and How to Get Away, Consumer Economic Issues in America, Regulation and Consumer Protection, and The Mathematics of Personal Finance . His book Personal Finance , first published in 1983, remains a best-selling college textbook. Garman has served as a consultant to more than 40 corporations, trade associations, and government agencies, and is currently working with the Department of Defense. This year, as a fellow of Virginia Tech's Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement (COTA), Garman will disseminate the latest research findings and promote model programs of PFEE (personal-finance employee education) in the private and non-profit sectors.
The Linxwiler national award recognizes an individual for outstanding contributions to consumer credit education. Linxwiler helped develop and served as the executive director of one of the nation's first non-profit credit-counseling organizations in the United States and advocated consumer education to help families manage money and credit.
The National Foundation for Consumer Credit is the nation's oldest and largest non-profit organization providing education and counseling services on budgeting and credit. NFCC members are located in 1,300 offices across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Many offices operate under the name Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS).
For more information about personal financial employee education (PFEE), contact Garman at 1-6677 or tgarman@vt.edu