WS Chronicle

Photo by Timothy Ramsey

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY 

THE CHRONICLE

The Winston-Salem chapter of the North Carolina Central University Alumni Association has been giving scholarships to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools WS/FCS students for many years.  As a means to increase the number of scholarships they provide, the association held a golf tournament at the Winston Lake golf course this past Friday, Sept. 23.

This is the first year of the tournament. It was the idea of former Winston-Salem State University Athletic Director Bill Hayes.  The scholarships will be for WS/FCS students who want to attend NCCU.  The qualifications for the scholarships are that the student must have at least a 2.5 grade point average and write a personal essay, pass an inter-view with the scholarship committee, have three letters of recommendation, and be involved with community activities.

Mable Stevenson, golf tournament committee member, said, “We have a very dynamic group of Eagles that live in Winston-Salem and the surrounding area, and we do everything we can to support the university.”

Hayes added, “A golf tournament is a good way to raise the kind of revenue we needed to provide scholarship opportunities for students.  We wanted to provide opportunities for our students, so we decided to do it.”

Alumni and guests from all over the country participated in the event. Mayor Allen Joines came out to support the event as well Police Chief Barry Rountree.

The association has a scholarship named for alumnus Melvin Mauney. His wife, Clementine, and son Doug participated in the tournament. They are touched he has a scholar-ship named in his honor.

“It;s a great honor to have Melvin remembered in this fashion because he loved that school so much,” Mrs. Mauney said.

Doug added, “Being an alum of NCCU, it was an honor to go to Central and to have this scholarship here in Winston-Salem named in his honor. It’s a blessing and I’m happy it’s something future Central students can enjoy.”

The members of the tournament committee said they were pleased to have the opportunity to help the university out.

Sylvia Squire said she has a son that is currently attending NCCU and she knows how much assistance the students need.

She says this golf tournament will allow them to help even more kids.

“I want to see the kids do well at Central and give other kids opportunities to go to Central,” said Larry Butler, vice president of tournament committee.  “A lot of kids can’t go because they aren’t financially able, so this in a sense will help them get there.  I have a passion for the school because I would not be where I am without it.”

Derek Pantiel, who was invited to play by his father-in-law, said, “I always love to support my university and whenever we get a little golf tournament that pops up, I like to play it when I can.  It’s really about the fellowship with the family, the Eagle family.”

There were raffle prizes and team trophies for those with the lowest scores for the day.  The players were also treated to a breakfast before the round and a hearty lunch after they finished.

Mary Grissom said she wanted to be involved with the tournament because not only her but many of her family members attended NCCU and helping the students from WS/FCS attend college even if it’s not NCCU brings her joy.

The scholarship amounts will be based on how much the committee was able to bring in from the tournament.