AREA COLLEGES BENEFIT FROM CRISPS' GENEROSITY

Business goes on bubbling for soft drink manufacturer Harry L. Crisp II, and he continues to allow some overflow to pour into Cape Girardeau.

Crisp's Pepsi bottling company, which has kept a link to the area through Southeast Missouri State University, has made well over $1 million in donations, said Wayne Davenport, executive director of the university's independent, non-profit foundation.

How much more than $1 million is private information.

"The Crisps have been the most significant donors in the history of the foundation," Davenport said.

Crisp and his wife, Rosemary, have been giving to Southeast since 1979, Davenport said. Besides monetary gifts, they have donated a building in Malden for use as the Crisp Bootheel Education Center. The university's nursing school facility also bears their name.

The Crisps' donations have demonstrated their commitment to education, Davenport said. Their link to Southeast is natural, because a number of Crisp children have graduated from the university, and Rosemary Crisp remains a board member of the foundation, the fund-raising arm of the university.

In 1997, Crisp had donated $500,000 to Southern Illinois University for a new basketball floor. At the time, the gift was intended to bring publicity to Marion Bottling as the largest contributor to the school's fund-raising effort, a company official said.

Along with the donation, Crisp's company got the right to have its products sold exclusively at the school's athletic facilities for the next 10 years. University officials in Carbondale had disagreements about the ethics of Crisp getting the contract.

James Tweedy, SIU's vice chancellor of administration, said the contract should have been put up for bids and brought before the board of trustees.

SIU legal counsel Peter Ruger said there was nothing improper under the law about the way the contract was handled.

Marion Pepsi contracts with John A. Logan College at Carterville, Ill., and Eastern Illinois University at Charleston. Those schools have been criticized for the same reasons.

Marion bottling signed another exclusive agreement in January with Southeast Missouri State University. Marion Pepsi will pay $200,000 the first year and from $1,500 to $30,000 annually for the next 10 years to have its beverages sold exclusively at the Show Me Center.

The bid for the Show Me Center's business was only an issue of who would pay more, university officials said. The Pepsi bid for the contract was considerably higher than that submitted by Coca Cola, which offered $100,000 the first year and $5,000 annually for the next 10 years, a total of $150,000.

Crisp's basis for donations comes from the business he inherited from his father, who switched to bottling Pepsi in 1936. Until then, the first Harry Crisp had manufactured his own brand, Red Rooster soda.

Now Marion Pepsi's operations extend to five states, providing drinks for more than 2 million consumers.

From his father's original five employees, operations have grown to almost 650 workers, but Crisp said their jobs and his ability to continue giving donations is in jeopardy from a lawsuit filed against his company by PepsiCo Inc.

The lawsuit, filed last June, alleges that Marion Pepsi has breached its contract by not performing duties and blocking PepsiCo's efforts to sell beverage syrup.

The lawsuit is the result of several years of conflicts between PepsiCo and Marion Pepsi, centered on the syrup provider's intention to take back sales and distribution to national accounts.

PepsiCo has filed similar lawsuits against independent bottlers in Ohio and Florida, said Marie Casey, a spokeswoman for Marion Pepsi.

A federal judge ruled last week that PepsiCo's desire to hold the civil trial in Chicago rather than Benton, Ill., was an unnecessary financial hardship for the Marion company. Legal proceedings will be moved to the federal court's Southern Illinois District, the judge said.

Crisp called this a small victory for his independent, locally minded company.

"Marion Pepsi-Cola will continue to vigorously protect the jobs of our employees, our long-term business investments in Southern Illinois and our local community involvement," said Crisp in a press release.

HISTORY OF MARION PEPSI

1898 -- A druggist named Caleb Bradham created the first batch of Pepsi in New Bern, North Carolina.

1935 -- Harry L. Crisp bought the franchise rights to sell Pepsi in two southern Illinois counties. Due to costs, he had to split his first syrup barrel with another bottler.

1960 -- Marion Pepsi added the orange soft drink Crush to its line up.

1966 -- Marion Pepsi gained the rights to 7Up and Dr. Pepper.

1967 -- Marion plant expanded to include Robinson, Illinois.

1972 -- From 1972-1974, Marion Pepsi operation grew again top include the Matton, Illinois, and blytheville, Arkansas.

1981 -- From 1981-1983, Marion Pepsi expanded to include Paducah, Kentucky, and Malden, Missouri. This single expansion tripled the size of Marion Pepsi.

1988 -- Marion Pepsi restructured its sales department and implemented a new pre-sell distribution system.

1989 -- An additional building is added to accommodate the expansive administrative staff.

1991 -- Due to the overwhelming demand, a second can line is added, doubling production capabilities.

1995 -- Marion Pepsi rounded off its product line by adding Ocean Spray, All Sport, Lipton Tea and Chocolate Moose.

1997 -- Opening of the Crisp Container Corporation: a 100,000-square-foot plastic bottle manufacturing plant.

(Source: Marion Pepsi Bottling Co.)