Williston Senior High Alumni Endow Scholarship at UNCW
4/21/2005 3:32:50 PM
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April 21, 2005
WILMINGTON, N.C. – With a gift of more than $35,000 raised to date under the auspices of the annual Stompin’ at the Savoy fund-raising dance, the University of North Carolina Wilmington today established the Williston Senior High School Alumni Endowed Scholarship as a legacy to allow descendants of Williston graduates to attend UNCW. Williston was the African-American high school in Wilmington that closed in 1968.
UNC Wilmington Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo, former trustee Linda Upperman Smith and Stompin’ at the Savoy organizer, Williston graduate and trustee-elect Linda Pearce, and Watson School of Education Dean Cathy Barlow signed the papers today to make the named scholarship official. The first award will be made this fall to a freshman student who plans to major in education.
DePaolo called this a “momentous day in the life of UNCW” and noted that this scholarship will “transform one student’s life starting this fall and will continue in perpetuity.”
She singled out Linda Upperman Smith, a member of the Williston Senior High School Class of 1967, who has been the organizing force behind Stompin’ at the Savoy. “She has taken the idea of holding a spring dance and made it blossom into an event that has raised more than $150,000 since the first Stompin’ at the Savoy event,” DePaolo said.
She also noted that the Williston Senior High School Alumni Scholarship directly impacts two of UNCW’s overarching strategic goals – building UNCW into a more diverse campus and providing much needed resources.
Previously, through corporate donations, gifts from alumni, faculty, staff and friends, and previous ticket sales, Stompin’ at the Savoy established three named scholarships: the Ralph Parker Endowed Scholarship, the Douglas Johnson Endowed Scholarship and the Wachovia Bank Endowed Scholarship.
The sixth annual Stompin’ at the Savoy, a fund-raising effort to increase merit scholarships that promote the diversity of students at UNCW, will be held from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, April 23 at the Seahawk Grill, Warwick Center, on the UNCW campus. The Electric Image Band will provide live music. Tickets are $50 per person and include heavy hors d’oeuvres and beverages. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the UNCW Office of the Chancellor at 910/962-3030. All tickets must be purchased in advance.
Stompin’ At The Savoy Gratefully Acknowledges Corporate/Major Donors
Williston Senior High School Alumni - $5,000+
Verizon – Tracy Jackson - $5,000
Corning Corporation – Clyde Stunson - $1,500
State Farm Corporate – Rick Davis - $1,500
Wachovia Bank – Randy Tomsic - $1,000
Omicron Alpha Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity - $1,000
BellSouth - Billy King - $1,000
Corporate Contributors
Ken Weeden and Associates - Planners
Cedric Dickerson – State Farm Agent (match)
Henry Brown, State Farm Agent (match)
Kathleen Shannon Glancy, PA – Attorney
Samm-Art Williams, Inc. – Playwright, Actor, Producer
James Stewart & Frances Dyer, IBM (match) – Family
Eric Lowe – Duke Power (match)
Windell Daniels, United National Tours
Dr. Howard Rasheed – Institute for Innovation – Organizational Visioning and Problem Solving
Wayne Dickson – Choice Towing
Constance Drain Greene - Adkins-Drain Funeral Service
Karen Davis Parker - French I. Davis Funeral Home
Very special thanks to UNCW Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo and ARA Catering Services for generously underwriting all expenses of this event.
Special thanks to Jonathan Hedge of Coastal Beverage for the Beer Donation, Jay McGrady of Empire Distributing, and to Dean Plunkett of the N.C. Beer and Wine Wholesellers for the wine donation, all arranged through the kind help of Rep. Thomas Wright.
Much gratitude and many thanks to Special Assistant to the Chancellor Max Allen, and his assistant, Jennifer Hanes, for all their hard work in making the evening such a big success.
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