08/23/24

By FHSU University Communications

HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is pleased to announce The Paisley Pear as the recipient of the 2024 Tiger Nation Partner of the Year Award. Tiger Nation Partners is a partnership involving several on-campus organizations, businesses, and organizations in the Hays community, and this year, we honor one of those participating businesses.

“Our community has a tremendous amount of Tiger spirit. When students come to FHSU, they see it every day throughout our community,” said Janette Meis, communication specialist in the Office of the President and co-chair of the Tiger Nation Partners committee. “The Paisley Pear is a strong supporter of FHSU. Their friendly staff frequently interacts with our students and their families, making them feel at home.”

FHSU created the Tiger Nation Partner of the Year to celebrate an organization in the Hays community that goes above and beyond to share its Tiger pride. To earn consideration for the award, community partners were asked to demonstrate their Tiger spirit in any or all the following ways:

• Producing or sharing TGOF-related social media content
• Encouraging employees to get “caught” wearing FHSU Tiger gear at work and in the community
• Ordering FHSU branded apparel for their employees from the Victor Gift and Apparel Company
• Sharing how the organization “Tigerized” their workspace

 "We love working with Fort Hays. We love the diversity that it brings to downtown Hays and our community,” said Shaun and Heather Musil, owners of The Paisley Pear. “We enjoy having FHSU students as our employees, holding FHSU meetings here in our store, and just the extra business it brings to us.”

The Paisley Pear was officially presented with the award during a chamber chat hosted by The Chamber in Hays on August 23. Previous recipients of this award include Sunflower Bank in 2022 and Golden Plains Credit Union in 2023.

To become a Tiger Nation Partner or to learn more about the program, visit fhsu.edu/tigernation