For the fourth consecutive year, Dr. Willie Oliver is putting his money where his heart is by investing directly in the future of local healthcare.
In 2026, Oliver expanded both the number and value of scholarships awarded through his Eatonton Healthcare Future (EHF) scholarship program. During a ceremony last month at his Most Valuable Smiles dental practice in downtown Eatonton, he presented four $1,500 scholarships to Putnam County High School graduates pursuing careers in healthcare.
The recipients were Kasey Davis, who will attend Kennesaw State University; Leanna Giddens, who will attend Georgia College & State University; Natalie Puente, who will attend Piedmont University; and A’Ziyah Williams, who will also attend Kennesaw State University.
The program’s growth reflects increasing participation and enthusiasm, something Oliver said has made the initiative especially rewarding.
“I love to see the participation that I’m getting from the students each year,” Oliver said. “I really do feel like I know how it is to be a college student and know the support that they need. Just having someone to actually believe in them and actually help them gives them a little bit of extra support. I think it goes a long way.”
The EHF program awarded three scholarships in 2025. This year’s expansion to four recipients followed what Oliver described as the largest applicant pool in the program’s history.
“We had a good bit apply this year,” Oliver said. “Probably the most participation we’ve ever had.”
Choosing recipients from such a competitive field proved challenging, he added. To avoid any appearance of favoritism, Oliver assembled a group to review applications and recommend scholarship winners before he conducted his own review.
“Being that I may know a couple of people, I don’t like to be biased with it,” Oliver said of the selection process. “So, I let others sift through them, and they make their choices and give them back. Then, of course, I take their choices, but I do go back and look at all of them myself, too.”
Unlike many traditional academic scholarships, the Eatonton Healthcare Future program was created with a specific purpose: strengthening the local healthcare workforce.
“That’s the total criteria,” Oliver said when asked about eligibility requirements. “Any healthcare profession; that’s it.”
Oliver said he launched the scholarship program with the long-term goal of encouraging local students to return home after completing their education and professional training.
“Honestly, I’m just hoping that we can replenish the healthcare community here in Eatonton,” Oliver said. “I’m hoping that they go out, get the education they need, get the training they need, and then come back here to work.”
His vision extends beyond simply helping students pay for college.
“We’re building a community here,” Oliver said. “I’m hoping that these students will come back, and I’m able to refer my patients to them. I hope we can just build a nice healthcare network here in Eatonton.”
As applications continue to increase and awareness of the program spreads, Oliver believes one factor may explain the scholarship’s growing popularity.
“I guess people are seeing now that it’s real,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh yeah, is he really giving out scholarships or not?’ It’s now, ‘No, it’s real.’”