The Wayne Community College Foundation Scholarship Invitational exceeded its organizers’ expectations again this year.
The event netted $150,000, handily passing the $135,000 target organizers had set. All of the money goes to scholarships for WCC students and will fund more than 200 scholarships in the 2014-2015 academic year.
“This is the most successful tournament we’ve had,” said Foundation Executive Director Jack Kannan. “These funds are critically important. More students than ever are seeking financial assistance and the sponsors know this and stepped up again this year.”
The total raised in the event’s 22-year history is more than $1,000,000.
The Invitational’s live and silent auctions and golf tournament held in June at Walnut Creek Country Club, combined with sponsorships and donations, resulted in the record-breaking take. Last year’s tournament brought in more than $133,000.
Credit goes to sponsors and donors as well as the event’s organizers and volunteers, said Invitational Co-chair Jeff Jackson. “This is always a group effort,” he said.
Eighty-three businesses and individuals served as sponsors for this year’s tournament at six financial levels.
“I’m amazed every year at what we’re able to accomplish,” said David Jackson of Invitational Sponsor Jackson and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning. “It is a very important cause for our community.”
Danny Jackson, also of Jackson and Sons, said that it is why his company supports the Invitational at the level it does and why they encourage others to contribute.
“The college and foundation are helping people be self-sufficient. That is the part that David and I are so passionate about,” Danny Jackson said.
Not only is the Invitational the primary source for scholarships for WCC students, it is also considered the premier tournament among North Carolina community college, according to Kannan. It has been recognized by the state community college development officers’ organization as a model to imitate.
The 2014 sponsors were
Invitational Sponsor: Jackson and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning.
Diamond Sponsors: Eastern Aluminum Supply Company, AnnaLean and Edward Reeves, R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company LLC, and Drs. Kay and Woody Albertson.
Platinum Sponsors: AP Exhaust Technologies, AT&T, Brady Trane Services Inc., Branch Banking & Trust Co, First Citizens Bank, Franklin Baking Company, Georgia Pacific, Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Sam’s Club, Dr. Victoria Samuels, and Wells Fargo Bank.
Scholarship Sponsors: Alta Foods LLC, Arnold Wilbert Vault, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services/McMillen and Associates Realty, Best Commercial Development LLC, Best Distributing Company, Fran and Larry Boyce, Carr, Riggs & Ingram LLC, Case Farms, Deacon Jones Auto Group, Dr. Deborah Fulbright, Goldsboro Builders Supply, Goldsboro News-Argus, Goldsboro Physical Therapy and Wellness, Goldsboro Skin Center, Home Health and Hospice Care Inc., Horne Moving Systems Inc., Cathy and Tom Howell, Ivey’s Spring Creek Farm, William S. Lamm, McCall’s Supply Inc., Nebraska Book Company, New Century Bank, Pate-Dawson Company, Piedmont Natural Gas, Pizza Inn of Goldsboro, Precision Plumbing, Professional Data Management Inc., Ram Rent-All, Raymond James Financial Services Inc., Seymour Funeral Home and Cremation, Sterne Agee, The Borden Fund Inc., The Little Bank, Wayne Electric Company, Wells Fargo Advisors, Whole Harvest Foods LLC, Nancy and Dr. Ross Wilson, and Wooten Development Company.
Gold Sponsors: BB&T Insurance Services, Best & Langston Inc.; Dan Wise Chevrolet Inc., Daniels and Daniels Construction Company Inc., Dr. Michael Gooden, Hamm-Brantly Associates, KS Bank, N.C. Community Federal Credit Union, Wal-Mart Foundation, Warren, Kerr, Walston, Taylor & Smith LLP, Wayne Memorial Hospital Inc., and Wayne Realty & Insurance Co. Inc.
Hole Sponsors: API Funds, Chevrolet of Goldsboro, Doubletree Personnel Inc., Eagles Property Inc., Evergreen Memorial Service Inc., Goldsboro Securities LLC, Griffin Exterminating Company; Hartford Mutual Funds, Kenneth F. Hill, In Memory of Randy Baker; Nationwide Financial, Nunn Brashear & Company PA, RE/MAX Complete, State Electric Supply Company, and Edward H. Wilson.
Wooten Oil Company founded the event in 1993 as a way to contribute to a cause that would use all of the money raised locally. Dillon Wooten and his business Wooten Development Company continue to be involved in it.
The Foundation of Wayne Community College is a non-profit organization that works to broaden the base of community support for educational opportunities at the college. The Foundation assisted WCC students with more than 250 scholarships for the 2013-2014 academic year. It also provides funding for innovative campus projects and employee recognition, and offers cultural programs for the community.
Wayne Community College is a public, two-year college with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 15,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 100 college credit programs.
