Wayne Densch - Class of 2010
On October 22, 1986 a plaque was placed in the breezeway of the two Athletics Department buildings thus renaming the complex the Wayne Densch Sports Center. The plaque was adorned in honor and recognition of the benevolence shared by one of the Central Florida region's greatest philanthropists. Earlier the same year, it was said of Wayne Densch in the Orlando Sentinel, which would be included on the plaque, "This gift is an eloquent statement of his belief that Athletics and Academics are good for each other at UCF." The gift to UCF Athletics would be the start of a long-standing relationship with the Densch family and the Wayne M. Densch Charitable Trust.
Wayne Densch grew up and was educated in Louisville, Ky. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941 and served during World War II in the South Pacific as a Communications Officer for the 33rd Infantry Division. Awarded the Bronze Star, he was honorably discharged on February 14, 1946. He acquired his first Anheuser-Busch beer distributorship in Waukegan, Ill., in 1953. He sold it seven years later and in 1960 he bought the Orlando area distributorship. That year the business recorded 550,267 cases of beer sold. In 1985, sales of Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake Counties saw the total soar to 5.5 million cases. Wayne Densch, Inc. has been the leading Anheuser-Busch distributor in Florida for many years. Densch would pass away on May 8, 1994.
Each year, Wayne Densch, Inc. sponsors and participates in numerous charitable, non-profit events to benefit the Central Florida Community. "The Central Florida community has been very good to our organization. Growth has been extremely good. We feel it is our duty to contribute back to the community," Densch has said.
Densch and his wife, Ann, on their own and through their business supported a variety of charitable causes, including the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the Red Cross, Shrine Burn Centers and Hospitals, and many University of Central Florida activities.
In 1997, Anheuser-Busch purchased rights to distribute its beer products in portions of the Florida counties of Orange, Lake and Osceola from Wayne Densch, Inc. Densch had drafted a will giving CEO Leonard Williams an option to buy Wayne Densch, Inc. As dictated in Densch's will, proceeds from Williams' purchase of the distributorship would go toward the Wayne M. Densch Charitable Trust, which was founded in 1992 to help the poor, elderly and homeless. Densch's will appointed Williams as personal representative of his estate and sole director of the Wayne M. Densch Charitable Trust, which continues its support of UCF Athletics to this day.