The Wayne Community College Foundation Scholarship Invitational exceeded its organizers’ expectations again this year.
The event netted $176,000, handily passing the $170,000 target organizers had set. All of the money goes to WCC students for scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year.
“This pool of money is essential for scholarships,” said Foundation Executive Director Adrienne Northington. “Without our assistance, students would not be able to attend Wayne Community College.”
The total raised in the event’s 24-year history is more than $1,600,000.
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 $167,000.
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.
Nearly 100 businesses and individuals served as sponsors for this year’s tournament at eight financial levels. Dozens of people and businesses donated items for the auctions that brought in $24,461. Students and employees at the college provided a volunteer workforce throughout the event.
David Jackson of Invitational Sponsor Jackson and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning said the cause is an easy one to support, especially when he has seen how grateful students are for the opportunity to improve their lives through education. “Students who are receiving these scholarships are more and more appreciative,” he said.
Candace Jones, the speaker at the event’s dinner, is one of the thankful recipients. She is a WCC alumna who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this spring and has been admitted into Columbia University’s Higher and Postsecondary Education master’s degree program. During her time at WCC, Miss Jones worked in the Foundation office through the Federal Work-Study Program and received several Foundation scholarships.
She told the gathering, “I walked into the Foundation Office as the girl who was never supposed to make it, as the girl who was lucky just to have graduated from high school. My entire life changed when my scholarship donors decided to take a chance on me and provide financial assistance to a stranger whom they weren’t even sure would appreciate their generosity in return.”
“If you don’t remember anything else that I have said tonight, please, just remember that your scholarships can completely change someone’s life, just as they have completely changed mine,” Miss Jones said.
“Candace brought everyone to their feet at the conclusion of her speech,” Mrs. Northington said. ”You never know the power of your generosity or the impact of mentoring until a student like her shares her story. Her talk validated everything we strive to do for our students here at WCC and through the Foundation.”
“What this tournament does is provide access to many, many students,” said former WCC President Kay Albertson. “My congratulations go to the committee for another successful tournament.”
This year’s event sponsors were
Invitational Sponsor: Jackson and Sons Heating and Air Conditioning
Diamond Sponsors: Drs. Woody and Kay Albertson, Anonymous, Benton and Sons, Eastern Building Supply, Beth and Jack Kannan, Korschun Foundation, R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Company LLC, and AnnaLean and Ed Reeves.
Platinum Sponsors: Alta Foods LLC, Andy’s Foundation, AP Exhaust Technologies Inc., AT&T, Branch Banking & Trust Co., Case Farms, CopyPro, First Citizens Bank, Follett Bookstore, Franklin Baking Company, Georgia Pacific, Ivey’s Spring Creek Farm, Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Raymond James Financial Services Inc., Victoria Samuels, Wells Fargo Bank, and Wooten Development Company
Scholarship Sponsors: Arnold Wilbert Vault, BB&T Insurance Services Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Home Services McMillen Group, Best Commerical Development LLC, Best Distributing Company, The Borden Fund Inc., Larry and Fran Boyce, Brady Trane Services Inc., Carr, Riggs & Ingram, Deacon Jones Auto Group, Dr. Deborah K. Fulbright, Goldsboro Builders Supply, Goldsboro Skin Center, Hine Sitework Inc., Home Health and Hospice Care Inc., Horne Moving Systems Inc., Tom and Cathy Howell, IMPulse NC LLC, Bill and Melda Lamm, The Little Bank, Piedmont Natural Gas, Precision Plumbing, Professional Data Management Inc., Select Bank & Trust, Seymour Funeral Home and Cremation, Dr. Gene and Jessica Smith , Southern Bank, Sterne Agee, Strickland, Agner and Associates, Wayne Electric Company, Wayne Realty & Insurance Co. Inc., Wells Fargo Advisors, Whole Harvest Foods LLC, and Nancy and Ross Wilson
Gold Sponsors: Baddour, Parker & Hine PC, Best & Langston Inc., Current Electric, Dan Wise Chevrolet Inc., Daniels and Daniels Construction Company Inc., Furniture Fair, General Industries Inc., KS Bank, North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union, E.J. Pope & Son Inc., H. W. Reinhardt and Company, Strickland Insurance Group, Warren, Kerr, Walston, Taylor & Smith L.L.P., and Wayne Memorial Hospital Inc.
Hole Sponsors: Asphalt Services LLC, In Memory of Randy Baker, Barwick Lawn Care, Evergreen Memorial Service Inc., Dr. Tony Hamm, Hartford Mutual Funds, Live Oak Landscaping and Design, Merrill Lynch-Homes Hill Group, Nunn, Brashear & Uzzell P.A., RE/MAX Complete, Snipes Body Shop, State Electric Supply Company, George F. Whitfield, and Dr. Edward H. Wilson
Blue Sponsors: Carolina Ice Company, Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Culligan Water, Dr. Tony Hamm, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Logan’s Roadhouse, Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC, Southco Distributing Company, and Strickland, Agner and Associates
Corporate Dinner Sponsor: Outback Steakhouse
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. In addition to providing scholarships, it funds innovative campus projects and employee recognition, and offers cultural programs for the community.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 14,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.