Honoring Southeastern Community College’s 50th Anniversary The News Reporter February 6, 2014
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 3
Community college celebrating 50 years of making life better for Columbus County It is considered by many to be the greatest asset Columbus County possesses, and today, it turns 50. Southeastern Community College was chartered on Feb. 6, 1964 by men and women who saw a need, shared a vision and put in the work to see it through to fruition. Not enough can be said about SCC’s pioneers who saw in the school a way for a mostly rural population to learn skills that would take them to new levels of education and prosperity. It enabled low-income families an affordable way to earn a twoyear degree and enter the work force with a job that paid more than minimum wage. Still, others had finally found a way to earn a four-year degree by attending SCC first and saving thousands on the tuition costs of their freshman and sophomore years. During the past 25 years, as more and more manufacturers and textile firms shut down local plants to move overseas, SCC became an invaluable partner in the retraining of thousands of laid-off men and women, not just from Columbus County, but from surrounding communities as well. Workers with little or no career prospects suddenly found new life as welders, nurses, mechanics or HVAC technicians. SCC has long been the backbone of Columbus County’s first responders with both initial courses and continuing education programs for police officers, sheriff ’s deputies, emergency medical technicians and firefighters.
SCC continues to be the primary supplier of nurses to Columbus Regional Healthcare, the Department of Health, area doctors’ offices and other health care services. SCC has been a helping hand for businesses large and small. SCC is leading the way in the science – and business – of biotechnology. And, teamed with the Columbus County Schools, it also has one of the more successful early college high schools in the state. Another positive aspect of the school, often under-appreciated, is the influx of new staff and instructors at the school. Many come from other parts of the state as well as other parts of the country. They bring with them new ideas, new skills and new techniques – all of which they are more than willing to share. The college has provided many hours of entertainment with a diverse offering of musicians, artists, performers, entertainers and nationally known celebrities. There’s little doubt that SCC has made great contributions to Columbus County and her neighbors. Now, more than ever, SCC is needed by this county. One recent speaker at SCC may have said it best: “The first 50 years were great, but the best is yet to come.”
The staff of The News Reporter wishes to thank the staff of SCC’s Williamson Library for its invaluable help in assembling this special section honoring SCC’s 50 years.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 4
Sasser: SCC is building for the future Rhone Sasser served as chair during what many call the “new generation” of Southeastern Community College. “I was in Duplin County and Brunswick when the system got its start,” he said, “and only later came to Columbus.” Sasser and his fellow board members faced a quandary in 1997; the school was growing, and community colleges were starting to offer more technology and vocational programs in response to the E-Revolution. At the same time, SCC was still at the top of its game—but the game was changing. “We needed more room, more facilities, and more technologicallyoriented classes,” Sasser said. “The students needed and wanted those classes to be ready for the way things were changing.” SCC already had a fairly large footprint along the Chadbourn Highway, but Sasser knew more land was needed.
SCC Board of Trustees Chairman Randy Britt congratulates Trustee Rhone Sasser on the occasion of his nomination for a National Trustee Award. He approached the Cartrette family about their land adjacent to the college, and soon, a deal was struck. The
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Building, where students can study for careers in the tech industry. The remainder of the land will give the college room to grow in the years ahead. While many community colleges grow and have building programs, satellite campuses have become the nor m over the past two decades. Southeastern, on the other hand, is currently all in one place. “One of the strengths of Southeastern is the fact that everything is contiguous,” Sasser said. “The board felt that was important; there is a place for satellite campuses and classes, of course, but when you’re all on one campus, it’s easier on the students and the teachers to have a central location for an entire program.” The land was more than the school needed when construction started on the building, Sasser said, “but you have to look ahead.” Just as trends and technology began an exponential growth pattern in previous decades, Sasser said such
See Rhone Sasser, page 15
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 5
From SCC President Kathy Matlock As Southeastern Community College celebrates 50 years of proudly serving the community of Columbus County, I would like to reflect on the last decade of successes. Since 2004, we have doubled the contiguous land our campus occupies to 240 acres. We saw the construction of our first named building, the Cartrette Building, now home to computer and agricultural biotechnology and environmental programs, as well as our Information Highway room. We were fortunate enough, also, to construct a Health and Human Services Building so that our area first responders would have a home on campus. Our 40-year-old student center was renovated thanks to the largest gift in the college’s history, $3.5 million from the Nesmith family. Now named the Nesmith Center, it is a hub for student activities with a fully equipped fitness center, larger bookstore, Ram’s Club
dining and home to our Early College High School program. We look forward to a fully-renovated auditorium with many updates, as well as infrastructure changes that will make the facility fully accessible. Last year alone, we served almost 11,000 different students in curriculum and continuing education programs, despite continuing budget reductions and spending constraints. We have had many notable accomplishments and recognitions in the last 10 years. Most imporDr. Kathy tantly, we achieved a successful reaccreditation by our accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. We maintain excellence in our healthcare programs and were able to start a second ADN program to serve
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the non-traditional student through evening and weekend clinicals. Our MLT and phlebotomy programs received accreditation from the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences and our ADN program is seeking national accreditation from the National League of Nurses. We were one of the first two campuses in North Carolina designated as a Tree Campus USA. Our longstanding efforts in sustainability continue today through our recycling program, Matlock our natural/indigenous plantings and our energy efficiency recognition. It is further evident in the development of our agricultural biotechnology program, the first of its kind in the nation; our online invasive species program;
our new sustainable agriculture program, and our mobile bioprocessor, the first in the eastern United States. Our Phi Theta Kappa chapter has grown dramatically and our Phi Beta Lambda chapter continues to gain national recognition, including receiving two competition awards at last year’s national conference in Anaheim, California. Our baseball team traveled to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II World Series in Enid, Ok. in 2011. What significant achievements for a “small, rural” community college. As we embark on the next 50 years, looking back reminds us of how far we’ve come, but also sets lofty goals we must strive to attain. My goal in the upcoming months is to emphasize hospitality in all of our offices and services at the college. We are here to serve our community, and this should be evident in all of our interactions with our students and the community.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 6
Health careers program provides lots of jobs Before 1993, local hospitals had to run expensive ads in national medical journals and newspapers for laboratory professionals to come to southeastern North Carolina to work. In those days, local hospitals competed for laboratory graduates from Jacksonville and Pinehurst who were willing to relocate to this area. That has not been the case since SCC started the phlebotomy and medical laboratory technology (MLT) programs. In 1993, SCC graduated its first phlebotomy class. Since that time, the usual hire rate for phlebotomists from the program has been 40-70 percent each semester. Phlebotomy is the healthcare profession whose primary responsibility is to draw blood specimens. It is a certificate program that takes only one semester to complete. Many students get their first taste of healthcare in phlebotomy and use the program as a stepping stone to
another healthcare profession, such as MLT. The MLT is the scientific investigator of the hospital. Medical laboratory technology is an associate degree program that teaches students to perform laboratory tests on blood and body fluids for the diagnosis of disease. In 1997, SCC graduated its first medical laboratory technicians. MLT students are often hired in their last semester of school before they graduate. The job placement rate for those graduates is 96 percent. SCC has always taken pride in the quality of its healthcare programs. Phlebotomy and MLT were nationally accredited in their first year of operation. Graduates from both programs earn an overall 94 percent pass rate.
A health careers student at SCC today.
In the 1970s, hands-on real-life experience became the norm in SCC’s nursing program.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 7
Peggy Blackmon was director of SCC’s Nursing Program for more than 20 years.
Sue Shaw taught the ADN program at SCC in the 1980s.
One of the graduating nurses’ classes at SCC in 1980. Betty Ann Page was the SCC nursing director in 1980.
A graduating class of nurses in 1972.
Nursing students bandage a “patient.”
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 8
SCC gave him another start in life By CLARA CARTRETTE News Editor Dave Flowers floated around trying to find his niche in the world after graduating from high school, and was working in Philadelphia when his life took a new direction. His brother Sam, who had been in the military, called and said, “Let’s go to college.” That night both of them were on a bus headed to Columbus County with plans to enroll at Southeastern Community College. Dave had already tried college after graduating from high school. He had enrolled at James Sprunt with a plan to major in accounting, but there was a missing link – he had not taken bookkeeping in high school and soon learned that accounting might not be his best choice. So he went to Job Corps, studied heating and air conditioning in Breckenridge, Ky. and got assigned to Wilmington, Del. He stayed one day, then went to Philadelphia and started
SCC President Dr. Ron McCarter, Steve Smith and Dave Flowers Manna Bible Institute. He had grown up in Brunswick County in the Longwood area and had already been doing some preaching back home. “Out of nowhere one night Sam called from New York and said ‘Let’s
go to college.’ I asked him where, and he said ‘They’ve got a college down in Whiteville. We can major in the same thing and help each other.’ Sam had the GI Bill and I had $550, but we came home. When we got off the bus
we assumed the college was in town but learned it was not, so we took a taxi with our belongings in hand — two suitcases. “It was the best thing that ever happened to both of us,” Flowers continued. “Everybody called us Sam and Dave, because there were some singers called Sam and Dave. After the first quarter it seemed that we had the right kind of teachers. After class was over they were still around, and they were very nurturing. I was 21, and after the second quarter, I had my confidence to be a real college student. I had some leadership ability in high school, and when the opportunity came to run for president of the student government, I was encouraged by Brenda Troy, who got an application for me. Everybody was saying ‘You can’t win in a minority situation.’ I was up against some pretty good guys – Clint Grainger and Sonny Rothrock – but I got the most votes.”
See Dave Flowers, page 33
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 9
SCC students on a field trip with the SCC bus.
Hazel McGlockton worked as a secretary at SCC in 1980.
James Thompson worked in maintenance in 1974.
The first cosmetology class in 1968.
SCC cheerleader Marilyn Hazel in 1979.
Ruby Lambdin taught English Students in the HVAC class in in 1972. 1972.
1972 students Ralph Ward, Frank WIlson and Gail Jones.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 10
Julie Stocks spent her career at SCC By RAY WYCHE Staff Writer Julie Stocks was fresh out of Duke University with a master’s degree in counseling and looking for a job when she learned about Southeastern Community College. One of the original 13 community colleges in the state, Southeastern was in a growth situation at the time, serving Columbus, Bladen, Brunswick, Robeson and Pender counties. “Southeastern covered a huge area,” Stocks says. She applied for a position at the college after hearing a professor who had been at the school describe it as “an amazing place.” She was offered a job in her chosen field and decided to take it, figuring she could leave after a year if things didn’t go to suit her. She left 32 years later, retiring as vice president for student development services.
Julie Stocks Her job was to make the college road as smooth as possible for the students, many of whom came from families with no experiences with colleges. Her job involved more than helping the students fit into a college environment; she oversaw student activities, was in charge of student
recruitment, handled admissions, assisted students with financial aid matters, and was on hand to provide advice and guidance for any student problems. With her long list of duties, Stocks had to have some help. “I had 32 people reporting to me,” she says. From top to bottom, employees of the college showed a strong sense of duty and affection for Southeastern. “When we came to Southeastern, it was kind of like it was our mission field. It was so exciting. We were family. We grew up together,” she says of the employees’ love for the college. As the college grew in enrollment, Southeastern didn’t hesitate to pile more duties on Stocks’ department. An orientation lecture for students was required at the beginning of each term. Since she worked closely with the students, she was chosen to lead these sessions.
“I did them (orientation lectures) every semester I was there,” she says. One of the many tasks that landed on Stocks’ desk was helping determine course offerings that would receive credit at four-year colleges. Some four-year colleges would not give credit for every course taught at Southeastern. It was a complicated decision facing those students planning to transfer after two years to a fouryear college granting bachelor’s degrees. But Stocks and her department met the challenge. After much study and communication with four-year schools, the Southeastern faculty and administration built their curriculum for people who planned to get their final two years of college at a four-year institution. “People would come to Southeast-
See Julie Stocks, page 35
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 11
Bill Wilson was the dean of adult education in 1974.
In 1978, SCC’s Student Government Association was led by Alton Peacock, president; Jennie Yarboro, vice president; Barbara Fox, secretary and Fannie Moore, treasurer.
Our Very Best Wishes to
Fred Hurteau was a graphic artist at SCC in 1974.
Jule Williamson in a guitar class at SCC in 1980.
On behalf of the Town of Lake Waccamaw
Mayor Daniel Hilburn and the Board of Commissioners extend their thanks to Southeastern Community College for 50 years of selfless service to Columbus County and the surrounding areas. The dedication portrayed by the College for educating our workforce is to be commended.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 12
Seeing the world with SCC’s Balogh and Welborne Since 1976, Columbus County citizens and travelers from many other states have been afforded the opportunity to see the world with the Southeastern Community College Travel Study program. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014, the college and community have a huge respect for the many instructors who wrote the early history of SCC. Christa Balogh and Curt Welborne were two who signed on early as instructors. Hoping to open a whole new world to students and the community, the team of Christa and Curt initiated the travel study program in 1976. Since that time, 3,500 individuals have traveled with the duo. The first trip was to England with 12 signed on to travel. The duo has just returned from Israel with a travel group of 48. Christa Balogh, Hungarian by birth, came to the states in 1967 after taking refuge in Austria during the Hungarian Revolution. An artist rec-
Christa Balogh
Curt Welborne
ognized worldwide for her work with textiles, painting and pottery, Christa shared her skills with SCC students from 1968 until 1993. She taught art history, painting, pottery, batik and any course that fell under the auspices of the Associate of Fine Arts degree. “Christa is revered in the art
world,” stated Executive Dean of Institutional Advancement Sue Hawks. “Students clamored to sign up for her art courses. SCC has always had a strong art program and Christa set the standard of excellence for 25 years.” Curt Welborne taught humanities. His tenure at SCC lasted 26 years.
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Curt was well known as a drama coach at SCC. On Sept. 20, Christa and Curt were surprised by a travel party in their honor. Donna and Grant Egley, Tom Williams and others who have traveled with SCC for years “hatched” the idea of inviting former travelers to Lake Waccamaw for the event and the travelers were asked to contribute to a scholarship in Balogh and Welborne’s honor. The scholarship will be set aside for an SCC student who would like to broaden his or her horizons but lacks the funds to do so. The concept was successful, as approximately 75 former travelers arrived, checks in hand. Mary Smith and Cookie Norton came from Florida to honor the couple. Deloris Reese, a traveler from Washington, D.C., and Cherry Blackwell from Maryland, joined the party. A contingent from Wilmington
See Seeing the world, page 15
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 13
Mary Fran Todd Smith was the Eric Brandt was the emer- Kellie Lewis was editor of secretary to the vice president gency medical technician SCC’s yearbook in 1980. instructor in 1980. at SCC in 1972.
Students at SCC in 1972.
In 1976, SCC’s music program was taught by W.C. Butler, Geneva Ashley and Dick Burkhardt.
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 14
SCC has prominent role in local economy
Southeastern Community College’s Workforce and Community Development Division has positioned itself in a role of prominence in Columbus County’s economic and workforce development activities. The division’s programs and services encompass industry-specific short-term workforce development training classes, easy access to employment and training services for job seekers and employers, technical assistance for start-up and existing small businesses. It also provides customized industrial training and support services for new/expanding industry and partnerships with economic development entities, as well as high equivalency diploma programs. The Workforce and Community Development Division’s industry specific short-term workforce development classes are designed to provide training in various occupational areas with many leading to industry recognized licensures and/ or certifications. Since the late 1990s
Students receive job-hunting assistance in the JobLink Center at SCC in the early 2000s. to 2012, the division has experienced a 78 percent increase in the number of people enrolling in these classes. To
further demonstrate its economic impact, the Workforce and Community Development Division’s total student
enrollment increased 64 percent during this same period. The Columbus County JobLink Career Center at SCC provides easy access to an array of employment and training services for job-seekers and employers. Services available include career and personal assessments, employment readiness preparation, short-term skills training, job placement assistance, résumé preparation and career counseling. Also, job seekers have access to the Career Resource Room for extensive career exploration and job search efforts. Customers also may meet with representatives from Employment Security Commission, Vocational Rehabilitation, Telamon Corporation and Commission of Indian Affairs in the Center. Through the Small Business Center (SBC), entrepreneurs are able to obtain technical assistance for start-up and exiting small businesses. These services include business plan
See Prominent role, page 49
Congratulations Southeastern Community College on 50 years of providing quality education! Just like you we’re committed to helping all our citizens live a better, more fulfilled life.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 15
SCC President Steve Scott talks with students in the mid-1990s.
Seeing the world Continued from page 1-A was in attendance, as well as travelers from Fayetteville, Clarkton, Lake Waccamaw, Tabor City, Whiteville and towns in between. SCC President Dr. Kathy Matlock has traveled frequently with the college since her arrival in 2004. “They have led very successful trips,” she enthused. “I have traveled with them to the Greek Isles, Malta, Belgium, and Germany. We’ve seen the tulips in Holland and spent Thanksgiving in London. We traveled to the Western Mediterranean in 2008 on the Costa Concordia – yes, the same Italian cruise ship with the same captain, Francesco Schettino, that sank off the coast of Italy. We also experienced a scare while aboard the ship. We never discerned exactly what happened but we awoke to discover a gaping hole in the ship’s hull during
our trip as well,” she remembers. “I have added 21 countries to my ‘bucket list’ traveling with Curt and Christa. The scholarship was a terrific idea, allowing students to travel and learn.” The travel organizers are not close to retirement. Trips to Ireland in March and to Hungary in the fall of 2014 are already planned. Interested parties should call Christa Balogh at (910) 646-4189, Curt Welborne at (910) 234-9009 or Sue Hawks at (910) 642-7141 ext. 320 to inquire about travel study through SCC. Slots for the popular trips fill up quickly. To date, $3,500 has been raised for the Christa Balogh and Curt Welborne travel study scholarship. Contributions that will assist student travelers may be made to the SCC Foundation, Attn: Sue Hawks, P.O. Box 151, Whiteville N.C. 28472.
Rhone Sasser Continued from page 4 a change is inevitable in today’s techdriven world. The county’s radicallychanging economy – shifting from tobacco to textiles, then to new technology, in less than a century —will mean new skills are required for students entering the employment marketplace. Those new skills will also be needed on a broad scale if Columbus County is to replace the jobs lost through the years
as the driving forces behind commerce have changed. “We wanted to be sure Southeastern had the land it needed for future expansion, if and when that happened,” Sasser said. “From the beginning, the community college system has been about preparing people for the future. We had to prepare the college for the future of serving its students, too.”
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 16
Dedicated donors ensure SCC Foundation’s success The Southeastern Community College Foundation Inc. was created out of necessity for additional financial support for a college in its infancy. The foundation was established in May 1966, with Henry Wyche, chairman of the board of trustees, serving as its first president. The incorporation of the foundation occurred in 1968, creating a nonprofit corporation for the college. At the first meeting of the incorporated board, directors present were H. P. Bell Jr., Dr. Jesse C. Fisher Jr., P. O. Gore, J. B. Lattay, Sam G. Koonce Sr., Worth D. Williamson, Bion Sears and Dr. R. M. Williamson. E. Philip Comer, SCC’s second president, served as secretary for the meeting. In 1969, the Foundation board of directors was expanded to allow nontrustees to serve. Today the board has 39 active members, three of which are ex-officio. The 2014 foundation president is Danny McNeill. E. W. “Butch” Hooks is vice president and Robert Ezzell is this year’s fund drive chairman. Robert
SCC’s first graduating class Aldrich is the investment committee chairman. The Foundation board includes: Theresa Blanks, Randy Britt, W. D. Brooks Jr., Richard Crutchfield, Maudie Davis, Doris Dees, Henry Edmund, Harry Foley, Leon Fox Jr.,
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Rhone Sasser, Donna Scott, Willard Small, Steve Smith, Terray Suggs, Ivan Wilson, Richard Wright and Ray Wyche. Ex-officio members are Kathy Matlock, SCC president, who serves as secretary; Sue Hawks, executive dean of institutional advancement, recording secretary; and Betty Jo Ramsey, vice president of operations and finance, who serves as treasurer. The SCC Foundation Inc. meets financial needs of the college that cannot be met through other funding sources. From the beginning, the goals of the foundation were focused on facilitating student success through financial assistance. The foundation remains true to that original goal and facilitates the offering of educational, professional development, scholarship, and leadership opportunities for students, faculty and staff. An annual fund drive is conducted with the assistance of Foundation directors and volunteers who help raise the resources needed to carry
See SCC Foundation, next page
Congratulations Southeastern Community College
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 17
SCC Foundation Continued from previous page out the foundation’s programs. Many of the original donors to that very first fund drive are still donors today. The allegiance to the SCC Foundation is outstanding. Education is a charity in which donors can see their contributions at work locally. More than 80 scholarships exist at SCC, named for individuals and families who know the value of SCC in our community. Foundation grants are made available to students with career aspirations, but with a lack of funds, to achieve their goals. The foundation supports the Richard F. Burkhardt Fine & Performing Arts Series, the Ambassador Leadership Program, SCC Athletics, the Upstairs Gallery and many other projects of excellence. During its 47-year existence, the SCC Foundation has helped ensure that excellence in education and SCC are synonymous. The success of the Foundation has been due in large part to the leadership provided by administrative directors – Jack Ervin, Steve Smith,
Annette Powell, and Frank Justice. Since 2000, Sue Hawks has been executive dean of the foundation. During this era, SCC’s largest monetary gifts have been made to the Foundation, along with gifts of land that have expanded the campus from 100 to 240 contiguous acres. The SCC Foundation is upheld as a shining example to other foundations and has enjoyed the status of being the fifth largest foundation in the community college system. A gift from Dr. and Mrs. W. F. Barefoot in 2000, of nearly $1 million, was endowed and the interest designated for student scholarships. In 2007, a gift from the estate of Ben and Lucy Nesmith of approximately $3.5 million allowed for the total renovation of the Student Center and are hallmarks in the Foundation’s history. This year’s fund drive goal is $195,000. Large gifts are exceptional but the consistency of gifts given annually from a loyal donor base is the reason for the continued success of
the SCC Foundation. Visa and MasterCard are accepted by the Foundation. Contributions to the SCC Foundation are accepted on
an on-going basis and are tax-deductible as allowed by law. The address for the Foundation is P.O. Box 151, Whiteville, N.C. 28472.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 18
Steve Scott was at SCC’s helm for 11 years By ALLEN TURNER Staff Writer
Steve Scott was SCC’s president from 1988 until 1999.
Dr. Stephen Scott, Southeastern Community College’s president from 1988-1999, sees the college as the most valuable asset in Columbus County. “It is the catalyst,” he says, “for economic and workforce development and is a point of access to higher education for residents of the community.” Scott came to Columbus County from his native South Carolina, where he taught high school math and physics before assuming administrative positions for several community colleges in the Palmetto State. He ended his 11-year tenure here to begin serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the N.C. Community College System. He is in his 11th year of service as president of Wake Technical Community College in the Raleigh area, which, under his leadership, not only has become the largest of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges but also was named last year as the fastest-growing large community college in the United States by Community
College Week. Scott is particularly proud of the establishment of the industrial park adjacent to SCC during his time here, calling it his greatest accomplishment while at Southeastern. From an academic standpoint, he says of his time at SCC, “We had an outstanding early childhood education program and used federal funds to construct the early childhood education building. “We also had outstanding college transfer and nursing programs.” Scott says he has no regrets about his time at Southeastern, but adds, “I always wished we could have attracted more jobs to Columbus County.” He says the most significant change for the college while he was here was “the shift toward a focus on economic and workforce development, as well as a focus on college transfer. “We also became the second community college in North Carolina to establish Student Ambassadors as a student leadership program.” Scott’s most significant memories about his time at SCC include three areas: economic de-
See Steve Scott, next page
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 19
Steve Scott Continued from previous page velopment (establishment of the industrial park adjacent to the college), cultural (visits and performances by Shirley Jones, Phyllis Diller and author Pat Conroy) and social/travel (SCC travel study courses opened up the world to SCC students). “Personal highlights from my tenure include time spent with Billy Hooks learning how to be a president, and leadership lessons learned from Hooks, Sam Koonce and Willard Small, who loved SCC and all the great things the college did,” he says. Scott adds, “I have great memories of my time at SCC. I did more than 1,000 half-hour cable TV programs called ‘SCC Presents’ and more than 1,000 two-minute motivational talks for radio stations. “I also went rappelling at Linville Gorge with 12 other SCC employees as a team-building exercise. I still display a photo from that event
prominently in my office!” Scott says he remembers with particular fondness “all the great employees at SCC and all the community leaders.” After his stint as head of the state community college system, Scott served as president of Lenoir Community College in Kinston in 2002 and 2003 before becoming Wake Technical Community College’s third president in its 50-year history in October 2003. A native of Liberty, S.C., Dr. Scott worked in his family’s restaurant as a young man. He played football for the University of Tennessee and earned his bachelor’s degree (economics), master’s degree (administration) and doctoral degree (education) at Clemson University. Dr. Scott and his wife, Patsy, have two children and three grandchildren.
Pictured here in 1981, SCC’s cosmetology program has enabled students to work in the hairdressing and makeup fields with many starting their own thriving businesses.
“As a former student of Southeastern Community College, I know first-hand what a tremendous resource it is for our community. We are so thankful that many of the children in our care have the opportunity to grow and learn as students at SCC, and we are looking forward to 50 more years!” -Gary Faircloth, President/CEO of Boys & Girls Homes of NC
making futures brighter since 1954
400 Flemington Drive PO Box 127 Lake Waccamaw, NC 910.646.3083 www.boysandgirlshomes.org
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 20
Broadcasting a big part of SCC
The BPT program was designed to attract students who are interested in the broadcasting field, whether they are looking to work for an employer or be self-employed. The skills students learn will allow them to do either. SCC recently updated the curriculum to help students be more marketable upon graduation, adding classes that – upon completion – will allow students be able to take exams for certification. These exams include the Society of Broadcast Engineers Certified Television Operator and Radio Operator exams, both industry-recognized certifications. Students may also seek to take the Avid Certified User Exam. When developing the program, SCC tried to be creative in ways that could attract students to the college. Many area schools have similar programs, so how could SCC make its program different or better? SCC has a dedicated editing lab equipped with an AVID ISIS server and 10 user stations with Media Composer.
Students in SCC’s broadcasting program tape a segment. Students also learn Adobe’s Photoshop, After Effects and Audition, which are industry-leading software packages. SCC has a studio equipped with all the needed equipment to train students in a multi-camera studio set-up. The EDU-Cable studio began at
SCC in the early 1990s and has grown to a full-time channel on the TimeWarner Cable line-up in Columbus County. Students assist in the tapings of the many shows produced by EDU-Cable, working as camera operators, sound technicians, set lighters, graphic contolers and directors.
The BPT program also has three HD field cameras for students to use during class and to check out for work on assigned projects. SCC most recently purchased a Jib arm, which allows camera operators to capture unique camera angles that would otherwise not be possible. The BPT program is 80 percent hands-on with interactive lectures. Students also have the opportunity to travel to various production-related events and to actual working television production facilities.Last year, a recent graduate of the BPT program partnered with a current student to enter a Digital Video Production competition with the Phi Beta Lamda program. They placed at the regional level and moved on to nationals in Anaheim, Calif., where they placed third. WZCO 89.9 FM, is the community radio station that is a partnership between SCC and Columbus County Schools. It is a full-time FM station that is operated by the students of SCC and Columbus County Schools.
We Know The Value of SCC...
When Southeastern Community College started forty years ago, we were a small welding and repair shop. We took advantage of their advanced welding classes a couple of years later, and soon after began manufacturing horse trailers. Just as SCC has grown to become a major influence in Columbus County life, we have grown from that small welding and repair shop to become a major Columbus County manufacturer with our trailers being sold all over the United States and overseas.
Whiteville • www.goretrailers.com
Thanks SCC for your help!
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 21
Congratulations Southeastern Community College on your
50 Anniversary th
Coastal Tire & Automotive Hwy. 130, Whiteville • 642-3693 Harry Greene and Craig Best
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Salute SCC for their continued growth and contributions to our county.
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 22
Pierce trained for job by future employer By RAY WYCHE Staff Writer When Patsy Byrd Pierce graduated from Hallsboro High School in 1966, she wisely decided she needed more training Southeastern Community College had just begun to fulfill its role as a training ground for workers in a wide range of fields, including a program leading to an associate degree in secretarial technology, a field that attracted Pierce. She enrolled in the program. Pierce spent her first college year in the old Chadbourn Elementary School building, the new college’s home while permanent campus buildings were being completed. She was one of the first students to attend classes on the new campus and received her degree in 1968. After working as a secretary in area businesses for a few months, she returned to her alma mater as a secretary in student development services,
dents we have here today,” she says. later assisting the dean and vice The staff as well as the student presidents. She served as secretary to body was considerably seven vice presidents smaller in those early of the college before transferring to the fidays, she says. “I wore two hats. I nancial aid office. did work for financial “That was a very aid and as secretary to important part of the vice presidents,” she job — working with students. I enjoyed says. She ended her camy job at the college,” reer working in finanshe says. cial aid. As she accuPierce was with the mulated years of sercollege in the midst of transition from vice in different areas of the college’s operamanually operated oftions, and because of fice machines to the her experience and electronic versions. long service, she had She was trained and earned the reputation did her first work on as a prime source of manual typewriters. i n fo r m at i o n ab o u t “I remember when Patsy Pierce the institution and its I typed every grade workings, the “go to” for every student on employee for help in administration. every transcript,” she recalls. “There Her work tenure at the college would be no possible way to do what lasted 40 years, a record at the time we did then with the number of stu-
of her retirement but one that has been surpassed since Pierce retired. “I’ve seen a lot of them come and go,” she says of her colleagues and the students she helped secure funds necessary for them to continue their studies. In retirement, Pierce is as busy as she was at Southeastern. She has two homes, one at Lake Waccamaw and one at Little River, S. C. Her present job is at a thrift store in Calabash as a full-time manager and a two-day per week sales person. “I’m enjoying my work at Calabash. It’s fun but it’s hard work,” she says. Proceeds from the store and others in Southport and Ocean Isle Beach help support a temporary home for the needy in Southport. Pierce likes to stay busy, with two homes and a business to manage, but she has one job in her retirement that she thoroughly enjoys. “I keep my little granddaughter two days a week.”
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By DAN BISER Sports Editor
Athletics with SCC since start
A young and eager Joe Nance knew he was defying the logic in Thomas Wolfe’s famous book title, “You Can’t Go Home Again,” but he did it anyway. And because Nance returned to his native Columbus County a halfcentury ago, Southeastern Community College has for the most part been able to maintain a reputable program in junior college athletics. Fresh out of UNC-Chapel Hill in 1964, the Chadbourn native was notified by local SCC formation committee member Sam Koonce about the need of a physical education instructor as well as someone who could jump-start an intercollegiate sports program at the brand new school. Nance and his wife Jean had already been hired in teaching positions in a school system in another
The 1969 SCC Rams baseball team. part of the state, but prospects of returning home to help inaugurate a much-needed community college
Giving back is my way of saying “Thank you.” Mary Jo Williamson, Agent 1011 North J K Powell Blvd Whiteville, NC 28472 Bus: 910-642-3753 mary@marywilliamson.net
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sounded appealing. “I thought about Thomas Wolfe, but then I thought I at least needed
to give it a try,” said Nance, who is now retired and l iv i n g at Myrtle Beach.”I knew how m u c h Joe Nance the area w o u l d benefit from having a community college in its midst, and I was getting a lot of support to become a part of it, so I accepted. It turned out to be the only job I really ever had.” For the next 38 years, Nance headed the physical education department and athletic department. He served tenures as head coach in men’s basketball, baseball and golf while also overseeing programs in
See Athletics, next page
Our Very Best to
Southeastern Community College for 50 years of Educational Achievement
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 25
Athletics Continued from previous page soccer, women’s basketball, softball and tennis. And although several of the sports were short-lived, SCC was able to draw substantial Harry Foley recognition throughout North Carolina for the success of its athletic teams. Through the years, a large number of Ram athletes have gone on to find success in four-year schools. “We were lacking in funding and facilities but we always managed to stay competitive,” Nance said. “We had many kids come through here who probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to compete anywhere else at the college level, but they ended up doing well and
The 1972 SCC men’s basketball team coached by Hershel Walsh. there were a lot who went on to play for four-year programs.” SCC’s first home home basketball court was the Chadbourn Elementary School (formerly Chadbourn High) gym and the SCC Rams later
utilized newer gyms in Whiteville. Harry Foley helped develop the men’s soccer program as a student in the late 1960s and served as head basketball coach in the early 1970s. Foley followed Herschel Walsh, who
had coached the Ram hoopsters to several strong seasons, including a runner-up finish in the 1974 Region 10 Tournament. “I really didn’t know the first thing about basketball, but I took the job anyway,” said Foley, who now sits on the SCC Board of Trustees. “We had Robert Myles coming back and he was an All-Region 10 player and Clarence Ganus coming in from Hallsboro High and Anthony McPhaul from Red Springs. The guys did well, considering the strength of schedule we had to play back then.” Robert Brooks succeeded Foley at the basketball helm in the early 1980s and guided the Rams to several winning seasons. Bob Young came to Southeastern in 1973 to teach and coach the Ram baseball team.
See Athletics, page 41
Thanks for helping to make the communites we serve a better place to live and work.
Member FDIC
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 26
SCC helping to close the gap By JEFFERSON WEAVER Staff Writer Rhone Sasser said the full impact and importance of Southeastern Community College never hit home until he attended his first graduation. He said he “inherited” a seat on the board of directors from a fellow banker. Sasser eventually went on to be chair of the college’s board during one of its most active periods of growth. “I knew in a way what a difference community colleges make,” he said, “but when I looked out across the room and saw all those GED and associate’s degree graduates, I realized for the first time how big a role Southeastern has in the community.” Southeastern’s Graduate Equivalent Diploma (GED) is one of the most popular at the school. Sasser said that times have changed from the days when a high school dropout could find a career—but teenagers haven’t. “When you’re 16 or 17,” he said,
“it’s easy to make the wrong choices about school. The GED program ensures people have a second chance, and we have had quite a few who went on to get two- or even four-year degrees.” As a banker and business leader, Sasser said the need for community colleges, whether for a GED or a twoyear degree, has never been more vital. “You need well-trained workers to attract the businesses that produce jobs,” he said. “It’s that simple. A community college helps people who might not aspire to or need a four-year degree become better workers right here at home, and that creates a better citizen and member of society. Without a community college, they fall through the gap. Community colleges close that gap. “Industries and businesses need good workers, and when they see a good pool of trained workers, and a community college that can help train new workers in new skills, it makes a community more attractive.”
“A solid foundation in your college journey is necessary for a successful career in life.You can get that foundation at SCC. I did! I am so proud to say I am an SCC Graduate.”
Congratulations on 50 Successful Years! Jacqueline Jo Andel Ray Southeastern Community College Graduate 1987, A.A.
Another advantage to having the GED programs and two-year degree programs close by, Sasser said, is “the comfort factor. “If you went off to a school a long distance away,” he said, “you might not know anyone. You have the added cost of supporting yourself and a home there. Southeastern, like all community colleges, gives people the opportunity to get the classes they need, here at home, in a comfortable environment where they are in school with their friends and neighbors. It makes a difference.” Seeing the GED students who graduate from Southeastern, Sasser said, “is enough to move anyone. “You see these people in their 20s, their 30s, their 40s and even older who have decided they are going to have that GED, for themselves and their families,” he said. “You have to admire them—it’s not easy, but that’s the kind of attitude that makes a community and a community college successful.”
Commencement in the 1970s.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 27
Hawks still singing the praises of SCC By CLARA CARTRETTE News Editor Sue Hawks remembers that tuition at Southeastern Community College was once so cheap that some people found it unbelievable that the college was providing quality education. “They just couldn’t see how such a bargain could be of good quality,” said the executive dean of institutional advancement, who began working at SCC as an outreach worker. “On the quarter system, tuition was just $27,” she said. “But we did go up to $32, then $57, the price that the state set for tuition.” Students also had a mindset that it might not be quality education, she added. “Their thinking was that if they couldn’t go anywhere else they would go to Southeastern. But we worked very hard to change that mindset and it became the college of choice. We had seniors day and were in the high schools at every opportunity,
Sue Hawks extolling the benefits of Southeastern Community College. We were ever present at the County Fair and wherever we could be to sell the college. I made it my personal mission.” That mission was successful. In 1976 a local parent wanted to know if a student took courses at SCC, could he or she transfer those hours into
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a four-year program at UNC Chapel Hill. The UNC dean of admissions satisfied that parent by stating, “Absolutely, and we had just as soon have transfers from SCC as anywhere.” Hawks “married into Whiteville,” having married Jerry Hawks. She met him through her sister Marsha, who worked at SCC and started the childcare center on the Mt. Olive campus. Jerry Hawks had graduated from Submarine Service, was discharged after six years and was working at the Mt. Olive Center. Marsha had met him and wanted Sue to go out with him. “That’s how we met,” she said. “I came to Whiteville in 1973 and worked at Collier’s Jewelers for nine months, working for Pebo Collier, who was a good mentor. I redecorated the diamond room. Then the college came calling and Pebo said it was a golden opportunity to further my career and he would back me, whatever I decided to do. “I started as an outreach worker in the recruitment department under
David Parker,” she continued. “There was a team of us who would knock on doors. We sang the praises of Southeastern Community College, told them why they should attend SCC, and it was an effective drive. For 27 years I was a recruitment person. I became coordinator and director and I always took it as a great challenge to encourage potential students to become SCC students.” In 2000 Hawks was named dean of the SCC Foundation Inc., yet another challenge. “I was picking up where Jack Ervin, Steve Smith and Annette Powell had laid the groundwork and set the standard for the foundation,” Hawks said. “They were the previous leaders of the foundation.” The same year Hawks went to work with the foundation, that entity received a gift from Dr. Fred Barefoot’s estate just shy of a million dollars. It was the first major gift to the foundation under her leadership and it was
See Sue Hawks, page 40
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 28
Moore steered college through the 1980s By ALLEN TURNER Staff Writer Dr. Dan Moore, president of Southeastern Community College from 1982 to 1988, tells a story from one particular graduation as being representative of his time at the helm. “Prior to my becoming president, our graduation speakers at SCC tended to be folks from the political and business world,” he says. “I made a decision we needed to choose speakers from successful SCC graduates. One of those was a fellow who grew up on a farm near Hallsboro, came to SCC, went to UNC-Chapel Hill for his undergraduate and medical degrees and was a practicing emergency room physician in Houston, Texas.” Moore continues, “On the day he was to speak at graduation, his father, an aging African-American who spent his life as a farmer in rural Columbus County, was to receive his adult high school diploma. I asked our speaker if, when his father came
Dan Moore forward to get his diploma, he would like to go in front of the podium with me and give his father his diploma. I still get chills thinking about watching our speaker give his aging father
his diploma, the two of them hugging each other in mutual pride, and the audience clapping in admiration. I see college leadership including being strong enough to share, and sensitive enough to know when to step back and let others have moments of joy.” Moore is now retired and lives in the Calabash area with his wife, Cheryl. Four of their six children attended SCC. During his career, he served at five community colleges in North Carolina and says, “In my opinion, SCC has the best relationships within their service area of any of the colleges where I was employed. That the SCC Foundation is based primarily on gifts from many individuals and organizations rather than being dependent on a few significant donors shows the strength of the college’s ties to the community. Of course, large gifts are significant, but the involvement of many donors opens many doors to college-community relations.” An opportunity to get the Small Business Center that was started un-
der the leadership of Janice Simms is memorable to Moore. Another important program at SCC was Resources for Student Learning (RSL), started by Bunk Spann and headed by Winnie Cook during Moore’s years. Moore says, “It was a special program for students coming to SCC without the academic and often social skills needed to be successful. The program included an overnight bus trip to an area camp. The camp was designed to help students get to know each other as well as some faculty and staff, so they would feel more attached at SCC as they began their classes. One of the exercises we did at the camp was to have students draw a life-line chart showing peaks and valleys in their lives. One of the students had her highest peak at the end of her lifeline. In the discussion that followed, she explained the bus trip to the camp was the peak at the end of the lifeline. She graduated from SCC, and eventually earned a master’s degree and became
See Dan Moore, next page
Columbus County Economic Development Commission and Columbus County Committee of 100
celebrate a longstanding partnership with Southeastern Community College and congratulate them on 50 years of exceptional service!
Discover Columbus County Over the past half century, Southeastern Community College has been instrumental in the united effort to bring economic vitality to Columbus County. Not only has SCC established itself as a top ranking community college, providing economic development support through technical education and specialized training programs, it has also supported and played a leading role in many other economic development efforts throughout the county. They are currently a key member of the economic development team here in Columbus County and will continue to be for decades to come!
For more information on the economic development efforts in Columbus county, or to become a member of the Committee of 100, please call 640-6608.
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 29
Dan Moore Continued from previous page employed as a social worker. Had she not had an opportunity to come to SCC and participate in a special program designed for students like her who came from high school with limited skills, where would she be now?” Early during Moore’s time at SCC, the only place in the county one could purchase children’s books was the college bookstore, and except in a limited way in restaurants and banks, the only place to see art displayed was at the college. “The college’s service to the community in the visual and performing arts grew during my years at SCC,” he says. That growth was fostered by Moore’s friendship with Connecticut artist Ken Larson, who was commissioned by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges to produce a series depicting the community college student in America. Three works from that series now hang in the Cartrette Building at SCC. Moore says, “The positive working relationship between me and the board of trustees and the SCC
Foundation board of directors was an essential part of my years as president. The board gave wise counsel and trusted me to act in the best interests of all concerned with SCC.” He continues, “I am most proud of continuing SCC’s focus on the student, and on continuing and building SCC’s relationships within the college’s service area. On the brick and mortar side of being a president, I am proud to have been in the ‘front office’ when we built the recently named Williamson Library. To help build a library, the center of learning on a campus, is a memorable opportunity.” Moore says his biggest regret during his time at the college was having to be a part of faculty and staff reductions that became necessary when student enrollments declined due to the way funding changed for veterans who returned to school. Moore says he does not remember a year, with or without
enrollment declines, that there were not funding issues originating with the state community college system. In contrast, he adds, “Fortunately, the portions of the college’s budget that came from county sources always were stable and growing.” “I can’t confirm that it is true,” Moore says, “but while I was at SCC I heard people say the establishment and growth of the college were the most significant events in the history of Columbus County. I can say that the college positively impacted thousands of lives, including the lives of those of us who were privileged to work there.” He remembers personnel from a regional hospital meeting with all of SCC’s associate degree nursing graduates and offering all of them jobs, pending their passing the state board exams. The salaries offered were only slightly below what the college paid experienced faculty. Moore says, “This demonstrated at
least three things: the importance of the college in providing education that led to jobs in critical areas in our community, the overall quality of programs we offered, and the continuing challenge to reward faculty appropriately for their excellence.” A native of Wilson, Moore graduated from Guilford College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minors in religion and English. He earned an M.S. degree in counseling psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. He earned his doctor of education degree in adult education, with a minor in psychology, from N.C. State University. Before coming to SCC as dean of student development and psychology instructor in 1974, Moore worked at Davidson Community College, Rockingham Community College, the N.C. Dept. of Education, Appalachian State University and Marshall University in West Virginia. After serving six years as president,
See Dan Moore, page 35
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 30
Fox started at SCC after driving by campus By RAY WYCHE Staff Writer In the early 1970s, Lonnie Fox and his wife Ann were driving to Fox’s hometown of Wilmington from Georgia where he had been an aerospace engineering officer in the U.S. Air Force. Fox was considering a career change. As they passed the relatively new campus of Southeastern Community College, he said to his wife, “I think I’ll apply for a job there.” He followed through and having earned a master’s degree in business administration while in the Air Force, was hired as director of the evening programs of the college. From his entry job, Fox moved up the ladder in administrative positions, working 33 years in a wide variety of jobs at the college. His final position was vice president for operations and finance but along the way he wore many hats. “At one time, I was dean of opera-
Lonnie Fox tions and handled some financial and personnel duties, was considered the college safety officer, oversaw the buildings and grounds, and was supervisor of the bookstore,” he says. He also had served as dean of oc-
cupational education for nine years. When Fox first joined the SCC family in 1972, the college was in the midst of an enrollment boom. “We didn’t have much competition,” he says, as SCC was the only community college in the area offering college transfer courses. The Community College System in Raleigh had planned to place community colleges where they could serve designated geographical areas. Southeastern offered vocational training as well as college level courses for students planning to attend four-year colleges. Of the nearest community colleges at that time, Cape Fear in Wilmington (which also served Pender County) offered only technical training and Robeson, Bladen and Brunswick Community colleges did not yet exist. Technically, SCC “had a five-county service area. Now it’s a one-county college,” Fox says. “But we can accept students from other counties. “Southeastern in the beginning
was for Columbus, Pender, Robeson, Bladen and Brunswick counties. We had trustees from those counties at that time,” Fox says. Despite the apparent loss of territory served since its beginning, Fox’s duties increased as more programs and fields of study were added to the college’s curriculum. One of the busiest times each year for Fox was when he called department heads together for the laborious task of making a budget for the college. One year when the complicated task was done, the budget-makers were looking over their efforts and discovered one slight oversight: they had failed to include money for the president’s salary. In his 33 years at SCC, Fox was part of many changes, one of the biggest being the switch from paper records to electronic records, not only for administrative functions but for student records. “We had registration using punch cards,” he says. Once the informa-
See Lonnie Fox, page 46
I offer my congratulations to Southeastern Community College for 50 years of contributions to higher education in Columbus County and for challenging the people of our community to achieve their dreams.
Representative Ken Waddell District 46
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 31
The evolution of Southeastern Community College nSCC marks its 50th birthday. By ROBB CROSS Staff Writer In the early days of 1963, Dr. C. Horace Hamilton, Reynolds professor of rural sociology at N.C. State University, prepared a survey for Governor Terry Sanford’s Commission on Education Beyond the High School. The survey was called Community Colleges For North Carolina and addressed the needs and possible locations for potential community college service areas around the state. Fourteen primary locations were established, with Columbus County number two behind Burke County and the Morganton area. Local businessman Jesse Fisher was finishing his doctoral work at UNC-Chapel Hill when he saw the results of the survey discussed in a newspaper. He was looking to relocate to Whiteville and came as an informed transplant. In a recent interview with SCC
Groundbreaking ceremonies Dean Sue Hawks, Fisher related that once in Columbus County, he set about talking about the idea of the local institution of higher learning “to anyone who would listen.” By April 1963 a committee appointed by the county commissioners was having its first meeting. Besides Fisher, the committee consisted of Flora Singletary, Martin Schulken and Jesse M. Gudger, all of Whiteville; Sam G. Koonce and Martin Lowe of Chadbourn; Shay P. Smith of
Happy Anniversary
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Tabor City, Cora Jane Ward of Clarendon, Jack Council of Lake Waccamaw and Tom Clayton of Fair Bluff. In May 1963 the Omnibus Higher Education Act became law and effectively created the community college system of today. The junior colleges had purged industrial/vocational training but those centers had begun offering remedial college courses and were working in a parallel direction. The Higher Education Act of 1963 brought them together into a more cohesive unit. On the local front, bills from both State Sen. Carl Meares and State Rep. Arthur Williamson for a $500,000 appropriation went to the General Assembly requesting the establishment of a two-year community college in the county. The Columbus County Community College Committee— chaired by Fisher—was present. The primary criterion for selection was the availability of land, at least 50 contiguous acres. The first site offered came from John and
“The idea of a College Crusade came to my mind. I began going around talking to anybody who’d listen.” Jesse Fisher Howard Singletary, a tract near the old New Hope school some four miles south of Whiteville, in the family since 1837. Committee member Flora Singletary was wife of Howard. Seeking to create a curriculum before college construction was complete, the committee involved the county and Whiteville school systems in the discussion. The Nakina and New Hope schools were suggested as early class sites and the Singletary tract seemed promising. On Sept. 15, 1963 the committee launched what was called The Community College Crusade, an eight-day effort to obtain 12,000 county signa-
See SCC’s evolution, page 36
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 32
Godwin was one of SCC’s first employees
By NICOLE CARTRETTE Staff Writer
It was by chance that Minnie Godwin became one of the first employees of Southeastern Community College. “You won’t believe it if I told you,” Godwin said. “I was in High Point working in a furniture factory as a secretary and one of the salesmen who came into the office was a really friendly person.” The salesman overheard the other secretaries teasing Godwin about her plans to move back to the county where she grew up. “They said I was going back to work on a manual typewriter and would likely have to use kerosene lamps,” Godwin recalled. “Who are you all picking on?” the salesman wanted to know. Godwin’s coworkers did not hesitate to identify Godwin, who was soon moving back to her home county of Columbus. Her husband, the late Jackie Godwin, had agreed to pastor
Minnie Godwin White Oak Freewill Baptist Church in Bladenboro. “Do you have a job there?” the salesman wanted to know. She didn’t. “Want me to see if I can help you
get one?” he offered. As it turned out, the salesman’s daughter had been to summer camp with a relative of Henry Wyche, an executive with United Carolina Bank and a trustee at Southeastern Community College. An application and interview later, Godwin was on her way to being a secretary at the up-and-coming college, but during her interview she was steered toward and asked about a switchboard operator job. When asked if she would be willing to take the operator’s job instead of a secretarial position, Wyche in the background waved his hands and shook his head no. “That’s not the job I had in mind for you,” Wyche told her. Godwin got the job as a secretary in May 1965. She was present for the groundbreaking and watched as classes began at the old high school in Chadbourn. Armand Opitz was the dean of
students. “He was a very intelligent man and a good boss,” Godwin said. “His wife became a student and graduate of the nursing program. She later would head the nursing program at UNC Pembroke. “I liked the registrar’s office,” Godwin said. “I always enjoyed it. I enjoyed the interaction with the students.” Oddly enough, Godwin ended up in that secretarial position after switching jobs as the secretary for the dean of students with Patsy Pierce. “I was in one corner of the room and she in the other,” Godwin said. “It worked out really well and was amazing how it happened. “I always felt like the students were getting what they needed and received a good education there,” Godwin said. “Any student who wanted to go to a four-year school was prepared to go and lots of students got the chance to go to college they would
See Minnie Godwin, page 48
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Dave Flowers Continued from page 8 He later won a runoff with Rothrock. “Good people surrounded me and helped me,” he said. “SCC had teachers who wanted you to succeed; they pushed you to succeed and being an older student, I needed that push.” Flowers graduated from SCC in 1972, but hated to leave. “I was praying it would become a four-year college,” he said. “Education was really cheap there. Just tell them you wanted to go and they would put you in there. If you were not gifted academically or couldn’t make it on the academic track, you could go into welding or some other vocational area. They had brick masonry, heating and air, plumbing, and you could always get a job on a vocational track. It gave a lot of people hope. It really was a joy going to SCC.” When Flowers was at SCC, Dr. Tom Cottingham, an advocate for expanding, was SCC president. The college got a lot of military veterans and that’s how Flowers met friends such as Marvin Tedder and the McPherson
boys (Kenny and his brothers Phil and Dale). “We had an argument every day,” Flowers said. “Not with each other, but in Curt Welborne’s class. He invited us to think out of the box,” which sparked debates. Flowers said his problem was that he tried to remember everything and didn’t learn to study. “After leaving SCC I had a few opportunities to go to other schools,” he said. “Daddy was a preacher and wanted me to go where he went — Shaw University, where I graduated in 1974.” He then went to Morehouse in Atlanta. “I had wanted to go where Dr. Martin Luther King went,” he said. “While I was at Shaw, someone said the Morehouse recruiter was in the building.” Flowers found the recruiter and learned that he was Cleopatric Lacy of Bladenboro, who told Flowers he had heard about him “preaching up a storm.”
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“I got a letter that summer from Morehouse, and I went,” he said. “It was $5,000 a semester and I had $500, but because of my grades, they went to the Southern Baptist Convention and they provided money for me to go there for three years.” Flowers said he always figured he would go back north, maybe to Philadelphia, after graduating from the seminary. However, his life took another direction after meeting Margie Holland when she was working in a dry cleaners in Whiteville. Then he saw her again when he went to Central Baptist Church and was asked to preach. “I wasn’t prepared to preach and I was nervous,” he said. “I saw Margie and asked an usher to ask her if she had a handkerchief I could use.” He said she sent over a little flowery handkerchief and he used it to keep his face wiped. “The next day I went to Leder Brothers and bought a whole box of handkerchiefs and gave them to her,”
he said. He and Margie were married his first year in seminary, and the next year Central Baptist called him as pastor. He will begin his 40th year there the first Sunday in March. Dave and Margie have two children, both of Columbia, S.C. David Jr. works with the elderly, and Monique works in marketing for her godfather’s church, Brookland Baptist, which has 9,000 members. While attending Morehouse, Flowers said, he saw Martin Luther King Jr. quite often on campus. He marched in Atlanta in 1975 for a King celebration “and I felt like an ant among millions,” he said. He also met Rosa Parks and Mrs. King. “Some people curse out Whiteville but it is the greatest thing that ever happened to me,” he said. “Southeastern Community College gave me another start in life, and it’s where I found my family and my church. I don’t think I would have been happier anywhere else.”
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 34
Williamson Library is a true resource center
nThe library remains a valuable gem.
The collection of books and other resources that would become the current Williamson Library began on shelves in the high school building at Chadbourn. The construction of the administration “A” building on the new campus in 1967 would give the then Learning Resource Center its first permanent home. In 1965 Raymond V. Dunmire was hired as the first director of LRC. It was his efforts that created the initial 15,000 volumes of the future library. That first home was to the right off the lobby, in the current location of the financial aid departments. The shelves were head high and the carpet was red. While Dunmire’s career as a librarian crafted a collection with many special and out-of-print volumes, his major coup was the acquisition of the prodigious microfilm collection of newspapers and historical records, some 1000 reels. The investment was
The original library or Learning Resource Center in the administration building, shown here in 1968. significant at the time – $7,000-$8,000 – but SCC was the first community college in the system to acquire the resource. Dunmire said at the time: “This is
something to which SCC can do a real service to the entire area, not just for today but for many years to come,” and nothing could be more prescient. Local historians have plundered
Raymond V. Dunmire, shown here in 1965, was the first librarian for SCC until 1969. through the records and newspapers for all these many years, doing genealogy searches as well.
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Julie Stocks Continued from page 10 ern because they knew their credits would transfer,” she says. “I helped them get the right courses to transfer,” she says of these transfer students. During her tenure at the college, Stocks worked with six presidents, most of the later ones leaning on her for information and advice about the college since her duties were at the
Tax Season SALE! heart of the institution. Looking back, Stocks has no regrets about her choice of where to begin —and end — her career. “As I look back, I was proud to be there. I love working with people.” She has a short answer to the question, ”Did you ever think about moving to another college?” “No.”
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Moore left SCC in 1988 for a top administrative position at Daytona Beach Community College in Florida. He returned to North Carolina 18 months later to become president of Haywood Community College west of Asheville in 1989. In 1996 he became executive vice president of Lenoir Community College in Kinston, where he moved to
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be nearer to his widowed mother. He retired from higher education in 1998. Since leaving the education field, Moore worked for a large church and later for the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. But his time at Southeastern Community ranks among the favorite of his career. “SCC is a special place,” he says.
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SCC’s evolution Continued from page 31 tures of support – roughly 25 percent of the population – to take to Raleigh to assure Columbus County a spot on the final list. Nineteen area chairmen worked with 500 canvassers to reach the public. L.P. Ward Jr. of Clarendon was chair of the Crusade. Ward pointed out that endorsements from other counties were equally welcome. That same week Fisher announced that Rep. Williamson of Chadbourn had offered a 50-acre tract between Whiteville and Chadbourn with frontage on both Old Chadbourn Road and the four-lane U.S. 74-76. Unlike the Singletary tract, the new offering had cleared as well as wooded acreage. In that recent interview, Fisher related an almost Road-to-Damascustype epiphany. He said as he was driving one day “the idea of a College Crusade came to my mind.” That crusade was successful and “we were among the first five new ones!” By October 1963, the recommendation was made by the director of the
One of the earliest commencements on the new campus. state community college department of the N.C. Board of Education that a community college be approved for Columbus County. Colleges for Moore and Rockingham counties had already been approved and further recommendations for either Morganton or Lenoir and Mt. Airy or North Wilkesboro were included with Columbus. Decisions were coming fast.
Additionally, other sites were offered: 50 acres in Cerro Gordo Township by W.H. Shelley; a choice of 50 acres just north of Hallsboro or 30 acres near old New Hope school, from County Commissioner L.P. Ward and his son; and 43 acres in the Oakdale community north of Chadbourn from Roland Hinson. A 75-acre tract within the town limits of Lake Waccamaw—
offered by Council Tool Company— would bring the total number of sites to 10. Chairman Fisher said: “We are deeply gratified for these expressions of support in the interest of better educational opportunities for the county and others whom the college may serve.” The local community college committee prepared a bound report for the State Board of Education containing all pertinent information, including the canvassing. Essentially, all that remained by the end of October 1963 was preparing the financial data. The county commission was working toward a bond referendum and the state was to cover nearly 65 percent of the cost. The Nov. 7 issue of The News Reporter reprinted the formal request to the State Board of Education in its entirety. It pointed out that the newly formed Columbus County Commit-
See SCC’s evolution, next page
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 37
SCC’s evolution Continued from previous page tee of 100 had been a close advisor to the college committee. The financial data showed that the building for the college would cost $1 million and that the state and county would split that outlay equally. Administrative and teachers salaries would come from the state, and maintenance costs from the county. The plan to have “every person in the county” form a cavalcade to Raleigh that day fell far short, with only 20 determined county folks attending. But the 67-page report was thorough, and the 12, 000 signatures conclusive enough that the public’s attendance was extra icing on the cake. It was a done deal, contingent on the passage of the $500,000 bond referendum on Jan. 14, 1964. The final days of 1963 found the Community College Committee prosecuting a get-out-the-vote campaign, with the county blanketed with flyers and canvassers. The Jan. 6, 1963 issue of the The News Reporter featured a
The 1967-68 SCC Marshals front-page editorial promoting the upcoming bond vote, citing the 12, 000-signature petition as answer to the question “Do We Want College?” More positive front-page editorials would appear in the two subsequent issues prior to the vote. To save $8, 000 in election costs, the college vote had been piggy-backed with a constitutional amendment issue to increase the number of seats
The Chamber congratulates SCC on 50 years of educational excellence.
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available in the Legislature. Populous counties in the state had 20 more House seats than the 100 counties in the state, and the plan was to give one to each county, no matter the size, and increase the Senate seats from 50 to 70. It is ironic that this sort of problem was the reason Columbus had been formed as a sectional compromise back in 1808. The legislators from Columbus in 1964 were “for” the amendment and there seems to have been an interest on their part to include the college vote on the ballot to boost voter turnout. The referendum passed with a 7 to 1 margin. Only Ransom Precinct, the Acme-Delco area, voted against it. The constitutional amendment and a 15-cent tax increase for college maintenance and operations passed with a 4 to 1 margin. The community college was a “done deal.” A statewide trend of low voter turnout was noted and locally only 5,900 of 19, 000 registered voters
cast ballots. Much work still lay ahead. The State Board of Education was tasked with choosing a site; only seven of the 10 offered were “free” sites. Twelve trustees would be appointed, four named by the county board of commissioners, four by the combined Whiteville and county school boards, and four by the governor. Within a week the local appointments were done: the county commissioners named Jim Lattay of Lake Waccamaw, Henry Wyche of Hallsboro, Ross Williamson of Tabor City, and Sammy Koonce of Chadbourn. The local school boards named Bion Sears and Jesse Fisher of Whiteville, P.O. Gore of Pireway, and H.G. Dameron of Tabor City. Fisher’s appointment coincided with his selection as Jaycee Man-Of-The-Year for 1964 and receiving the Distinguished Service Award for his instrumental work
See SCC’s evolution, page 38
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 38
SCC’s evolution Continued from page 37 bringing the community college to the county. By February, Gov. Terry Sanford completed the board of trustees with his appointments, all from outside Columbus County: H.P. Bell of Currie in Pender County, P.A. McRae of Proctorville in Robeson County, Jimmy Green of Clarkton in Bladen County, and Mrs. Henderson Rourk of Shallotte in Brunswick County. These selections made the new community college truly “Southeastern,” the name decided on unanimously in March. The charter for SCC had come on Feb. 6. The college board was launched with oaths taken Feb. 17, 1964. Murphy Bowman of Lumberton had come forward to offer a 50-acre site near the Arthur Williamson site between Whiteville and Chadbourn, in the area called the “Sweet Farm.” This and the Williamson site were the final two selected by the State Board of Education. The final decision was
A chemistry class at SCC in 1977. left to the SCC Board of Trustees. The tract from Rep. Arthur Williamson grew to 100 acres, which the board of trustees had deemed
the minimum size for selection. His brother, board member Dr. Ross Williamson, assured the trustees that Arthur would provide whatever land
was necessary. Rep. Williamson also paid for the survey of the property. By mid-year 1964 the first SCC president was hired: Dr. Warren A. Land. The 34-year-old Land came to SCC from his position as assistant professor of education at the University of Kansas. A month later the Wilmington architectural firm of Ballard, McKim and Sawyer was hired to design the five buildings of the new community college. A five-county survey was instituted to determine the curriculum to be established. President Land told a Civitan meeting: “We plan to offer a full college program in temporary quarters by next fall (1965).” Though 18 courses were established early in 1965, mostly non-credit courses like typing, speech and other commercial pursuits were offered in facilities at Whiteville, Central, Chadbourn and Tabor City high school campuses.
See SCC’s evolution, next page
Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 39
SCC’s evolution Continued from previous page Southeastern Community College would begin construction in February 1966. The temporary facilities were isolated to Chadbourn in September that year. Two hundred thirty-four full-time and 91 part-time students participated that first year. That first SCC class would award 51 associate degrees and 43 vocational diplomas in June of 1967. The newly completed school was occupied in August of the same year. Because of construction completions, the start of the first quarter on the new campus was delayed two weeks. In September 600, full-time students had enrolled at SCC, 400 of them freshmen. This auspicious occasion would begin a journey that would place SCC in the category of “firsts” in the Community College System; First to establish a permanent art collection, recently offered in a retrospective organized by the late art instructor Ron Cole;
SCC’s machine shop in 1986. First to provide microfilm service as part of the learning center; First to use Library of Congress catalogue system in the library; First to have an extensive record library;
“SCC has truly been a valuable asset to Columbus and surrounding counties. Congratulations on your 50th anniversary. You have been an instrument in our community for the many citizens who have been able to advance their education to be more productive citizens and find higher positions for a better quality of life. Again, Congratulations for a job well done. Keep up the good work.”
Amon mcKenzie Columbus County Commissioner District 1
One of the first three to be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. One of the first to establish a Foundation for the administration of gifts and donations.
In 1968, the first associate degree nurses graduated and the cosmetology program was established with 15 students. That same year, the first class of 29 county residents received their GEDs. Additionally, agri-business and diesel mechanics programs were added in 1968 to aid farmers in the rural county. By 1969 a Miss SCC pageant joined the spate of similar county events. In 1971 the college became year-round with the establishment of a summer quarter and by 1973 the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program and Upward Bound became early outreach programs for the college. In 1974 SCC added police science to its growing list of programs; by 1977 this program offered a Criminal Justice degree and would evolve into the current Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) program. The original plan for SCC was to
See SCC’s evolution, next page
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 40
SCC’s evolution Continued from previous page be the “southeastern community college” of North Carolina. This plan worked well and in 1974 a cooperative effort was developed with neighboring Brunswick County so that SCC instructors taught classes in the Brunswick County high schools at night. Brunswick Technical Institute began in 1979 and by 1984 the cooperative program ended. In 1977, new buildings were constructed for more classrooms. A distance-learning program was begun with a television course in economics, which would evolve into the Edu-Cable Program and Online classes, the first in 1998. Instructors Curt Welborne and Christa Balogh began a travel study program creating the first inter-disciplinary attempts with the humanities and allowed county residents to take trips abroad, from China and Australia to England and France and points between. This program, coupled with the
Fine Arts Series, begun in 1967, has served to create a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan flavor in the county. Additionally, art shows in the SCC Gallery of “A” building and the Annual Piano Festival and Competition allowed all county residents to experience the arts and humanities in local venues. Dual enrollment, a cooperative effort with the local high schools, allowed students to be exposed to college-level courses while still in high school. This program would expand to the Early College Program and evolve into the current Columbus Career and College Academy. By 1985 SCC boasted 24 two-year degree programs, 12 diploma programs and two certificate programs. 1986 was a banner year as both the Small Business Center and new library opened their doors. The library was recently named in honor of original land donor, Arthur W. Williamson Sr., and the business program was
expanded into the Whiteville Business Development Center, a small business incubator program in partnership with Brunswick Electric Membership Corporation in 1991. In 2000 SCC was involved in the successful effort to bring President Bill Clinton to Whiteville. The seventh president, Dr. Brantley Briley, came on board that year. In recent years benefactors like Dr. Fred Barefoot, James Allen Cartrette and Ben and Lucy Nesmith have enriched the college foundation through scholarships, buildings and general infrastructure. The campus proper has doubled to some 240 acres and new buildings have been constructed such as “T” for industry and agri-development and the Cartrette building, for environmental programs. Also a Health and Human Services building was constructed for first responder training. The former “G” building was completely renovated and renamed the
Nesmith Center. Minor renovations were completed on the library and are ongoing in the original teaching auditorium.
Sue Hawks Continued from page 27 her job to plan a ceremony for the family. Since that time there have been other large donors. “Support for the foundation is outstanding,” she said. “People in the community who know the value of education support the effort. I feel very honored to represent not only the foundation, but also the college in creating many connections with students, faculty, staff and supporters who have made our college great. “I am excited to be here for the 50th anniversary of Southeastern Community College and be on the planning team for the year,” Hawks concluded.
Congratulations
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Athletics Continued from page 25 and 2011, and advancing to NJCAA World Series in 2011 under Coach Scott Johnson. The hiring of Karlyn Stephens as softball coach in 2012 gave a big boost to the SCC softball program. The SCC athletic department suffered a significant setback in September 2013 when Ganus, who helped bring of extra support and interest to the baseball and softball programs the past several years, passed away at the age of 55 after battling cancer. Former area high school coach and administrator Worley Edwards was recently hired to fill the athletic director position. The list of other former baseball coaches at Southeastern includes Chuck Baldwin, Stoney Wine and Joey Autry. Other former coaches include Barry Nation (golf) and Susan Harmuth (women’s basketball).
“
The aim of education is to teach us how to think . . . and thus, to make our world a better place to live. Congratulations to
The 1979 SCC women’s basketball team coached by Susan Harmuth.
Congratulations SCC on your
“
For nine seasons, the Ram baseball program steadily progressed and grew under Young’s leadership and many locally grown players became a major part of the Ram diamond scene. “There’s a lot of good memories,” said Young, who went on to serve in SCC administration. “We had our own field to play on, but we eventually just didn’t have the funding to keep the baseball program operating like it needed to be.” For a few years in the mid-1980s, SCC went without athletic teams, but came back to field teams in basketball, baseball and softball during the 1990s. Clarence Ganus became basketball coach and eventually athletic director at the onset of new century. Only the baseball and softball teams remain at Southeastern with the Ram baseball team winning Region 10 championships in 2009
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Saluting the Eight Presidents of
Dr. Warren A. Land July 1964 to July 1966
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 43
Southeastern Community College
Dr. Dan W. Moore
February 1982 to April 1988
Dr. Stephen C. Scott
August 1988 to August 1999
Congratulations SCC on 50 years of academic excellence
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 44
SCC gave her ‘a whole different life’
By NICOLE CARTRETTE Staff Writer
There was a lot to consider. Janice Simms and her husband Dick were looking to move from Gastonia in the early 1970s. Dick had been offered a job with Waccamaw Bank in Whiteville. The family included three schoolaged children, Valerie, Mark and Kimberly. Simms had grown up in a family of restaurateurs from Pittsboro and had assisted her husband Dick in running a business in Hickory. The move would be a big change for the family. “Back then you had to drive through every little community in the world – it was so far away,” Simms said. “I just did not believe the road was ever going to end. The fact the college was under construction here helped us make a decision about whether to move here,” Simms said.
Janice Simms In the summer of 1972, the family made the move but she had no idea the community college that made Columbus County more appealing to the couple would be something more to her. Southeastern Community College would play a greater role in her life than she ever expected. Within the next year, Simms had filled two-part time positions at SCC, in Adult Education and the Unified
Humanities Project in 1973. In time, Janice would become a secretary in the president’s office, an administrative assistant to two presidents and a liaison to the board of trustees. “I enjoyed working with the board of trustees,” she said. “The members were wholesome, energetic and interesting people. “Each one had their strengths on the board but all were polite and listened. They had good interaction and they were people who had a lot of knowledge.” “Sam Koonce stands out as an individual who was full of strength and energy. Willard Small is another one of those individuals. They were men of foresight and strength,” she said. Under Dr. Dan Moore’s lead, Simms said student services flourished. “He was very inclusive. He was very open and had strengths in working with people,” she said. “There was a different atmosphere because of his student services orien-
tation while Dr. W. Ronald McCarter (Moore’s predecessor) had the administrative strengths needed at SCC at the time he served as president. Each had strengths for their particular time of service. “I think I brought some experience with me that served both of the presidents well,” she continued. “I had a decent background in protocol and my life situation was helpful.” Simms found it possible to work late hours beyond closing. She enjoyed working with people and was focused on being accommodating. By 1986, she had been tapped for a position she never dreamed of holding – director of SCC’s first-ever Small Business Center. “I was 41 years old. I never expected to have another career in my life. I wasn’t really looking for one,” Simms said. At the time that the Small Business Center was just an idea, the college was suffering cuts and a reduction
See Janice Simms, next page
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 45
Janice Simms Continued from previous page in force. Taking on the responsibility of leading the new center was risky. “I remember Dr. Moore telling me, ‘You are an employee with hard money now, but the Small Business Center is funded on soft money that might not last.’ I was willing to take the chance because there really was a need for the birth of the Small Business Center here and in every rural area,” Simms said. Carolyn Harris and John Bianchini were helpful in that endeavor, she said. “We were totally committed to getting businesses started,” Simms said. A networking hub that was a place for business owners to share ideas and problems was one of many roles the small business center filled in the county. “It was a resource that was never available here before,” Simms said. “They had a lack of support,” she added, seeing the Small Business Center as a true lighthouse for county
residents eager to go into business on their own. “It was a program that was definitely needed in the community.” Clients included a variety of individuals, even in the early stages of the center. “The scope ranged from engineers wanting to go out on their own to pharmacists and healthcare people, particularly women who were interested in going into a medical practice or provide a service as a health practitioner,” Simms recalled. “I would go door-to-door through Whiteville, Tabor City, Chadbourn, Fair Bluff and Lake Waccamaw to meet the business people through the chambers of commerce,” Simms said. “You have to take the program to where the people are. I worked with local chambers to take programs to them.” “Lunch and Learn” events became popular. Simms measured the success of
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made the impossible possible for many. “Banks really aren’t in the business of helping people get started in small business,” Simms said,. “It’s really not their job. “People think they can get 100 percent funding but that is so pie in the sky. You can’t expect somebody else to get you in business when you have no assets.” Simms saw the business center as a solid source of guidance and the go-to place in helping people determine whether or not they should be in business. “When I left the Small Business Center we had seven employees. It had grown because of good programs, getting information out to the public, and bringing people to the community who provided good seminars and advice,” she said. The N.C. Rural Center provided a lot of resources and Simms said
See Janice Simms, page 47
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the center in more than one way. “The biggest accomplishment is for a business to remain in business,” she said. Another plus was that businesses supported one another within the community and specifically other businesses linked to the center. If there was a local printer, other local businesses used that printer. A hairdresser might pick up new customers by meeting other business owners through the Small Business Center. “We helped people who wanted to develop business plans and that was a big factor,” Simms said. In her eyes, preventing someone from going into business to fail is a very beneficial service. “Sometimes people realized business wasn’t really for them,” Simms said. Loan programs offered through the Small Business Center via state and federal programs, however,
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 46
Lonnie Fox Continued from page 30 tion was punched in on the card, the cards were sent to Wayne Community College in Goldsboro where the information represented by the holes was printed on paper and returned to Southeastern. One of Fox’s unpaid duties at the present is with the SCC Foundation, of which he is a director. The foundation’s volunteers raise money for the college functions that are not funded by other sources. The foundation’s largess extends to the community at large in the form of scholarships, loans to students, concerts and other programs not covered by tuition or state grants. The group’s effect on making the college and its cultural programs available to the community has been highly praised. “If it hadn‘t been for the foundation, we’d have had some real problems,” Fox says. “It has been a wonderful thing.” The foundation dipped into its bank account to aid the college when it was
in near-desperate financial straits. When roofs on the original buildings began seriously leaking, it was foundation money that paid for the repairs. Fox’s volunteering spirit has reached beyond SCC. When the company that owned Cove Swamp, adjoining Canal Cove Road at Lake Waccamaw, announced plans to harvest the timber on the site, residents mounted a drive to purchase the land, with the aid of Nature Conservancy, to prevent the natural swamp and its wildlife from being destroyed. Fox took a leadership role in this effort and today Cove Swamp remains in its original, wild state. Fox has been deeply involved since retirement with the foundation as well as the welfare of the college itself. When Fox retired in 2005, he didn’t leave the campus that day, never to return. “They asked me to stay on halftime to help with two construction projects.” In typical Fox fashion, he stayed.
Vivian Jones Beresoff, pictured here in 1974, was a longtime member of the SCC science department.
Vickie Brown was a photographer for the school’s yearbook, Ramblings, in 1980.
Barbara Evans was Miss SCC in 1980.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 47
Janice Simms Continued from page 45 directors across the state shared ideas and collaborated. “Sessions at the Rural Center were such a help to me,” she said. “One of the first things I realized was this was the most connected state. People know each other from one end to the other.” While the Small Business Center’s success was no small accomplishment, Simms is modest about taking credit for it and says little about the national recognition that came to the college when the center was awarded six national grants to develop a minority business council in 1989. Simms was ultimately asked to speak at several national meetings across the country about the impact of the council’s work. Prior to her retirement from SCC in 1996, Simms was named Woman of Achievement in Education by the Wilmington YWCA. In 2011, she was honored as a lifetime member of the Greater
Whiteville Chamber of Commerce. Though Simms was passionate about her work with the Small Business Center, she also valued SCC’s ability to touch everyone in the county – in both big and small ways. During her years at SCC she saw firsthand the benefit of special grants that made highly soughtafter guest appearances at the college possible and enriched the community. Author and poet Maya Angelou, astronaut Curtis Brown, writer M. Scott Peck and novelist Pat Conroy were just a few of the big names that came to Columbus County as part of a lecture series hosted by SCC. “They were delightful people and it was a pleasure to pick them up at airports,” Simms said. The grant-supported endeavor brought interesting people to the community who otherwise couldn’t be lured to the county because of cost restrictions. With those appearances came en-
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thusiasm and the community was delighted to host the guests. “Dr. Elliot Engle was a presenter who drew such large crowds because of his unique presentation skills,” Simms said. “He spoke of various known men like Winston Churchill and Charles Dickens.” A sailing series put on by the college via the same grant attracted an “overflow crowd,” Simms recalled. “People from around the county and surrounding counties were delighted to see anything that had to do with sailing,” she said. Those special programs were a continuing success. “The students were awed by the fact we were able to bring public figures like that to Southeastern,” Simms said. “Most of those events were attended by the community people as well as students.” Though it has been 18 since Simms worked at the college, she still believes SCC is one of the county’s greatest assets.
“I am very proud of the Small Business Center directors who have carried the program since I left,” she said. “It continues to have an impact in the county and the present director has been lauded in many instances. I think the very fact that it has remained says something. The designers of the concept were forethoughtful. They knew small business was the backbone of our community and state and were wise to provide funding for it.” Simms, who is active in a number of civic clubs and Whiteville United Methodist Church, also remains very thankful for an endeavor that was so much more than just a job. “That college supplied me with a whole different life. Enjoying intelligent, giving, kind people had just been an enriching interlude in my life and I wouldn’t replace it for anything,” Simms said. “It was a pleasure.”
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 48
Minnie Godwin Continued from page 32 not had otherwise.” In more than three decades, Godwin witnessed how the college staff and professors inspired students and helped them to achieve even the most difficult goals. Godwin recalled an enor mous smile filling the face of a skinny young applicant in the early years. He had attached the picture to the application. “He put on his application that he wanted to be a doctor,” Godwin recalled. She admits that the eager fellow did not look a day older than 12 years old or so and she thought to herself, “I bet you would like to be a doctor.” “That is what he worked toward,” Godwin said. “He went to medical school and he is a doctor.” He spoke at the college many years after he had achieved his dream but Godwin said she could not help but see in her mind that little picture all those years ago. “He is one that stands out in my mind the most,” Godwin said.
Working in the registrar’s office for Roland Norris, Godwin said she saw firsthand how dedicated SCC employees were. Students who repeatedly missed class or were having problems received notices, but Norris never underestimated the value of a faceto-face chat with them. He tried to get to the root of attendance problems. “He would call them in and just talk to them like he was their daddy,” Godwin said. It didn’t always work but sometimes it did. If it was a transportation problem, he found them a ride. If it was a financial hardship, he sometimes went above and beyond. “He would help them financially. He would personally help them buy books if they couldn’t afford it,” Godwin recalled. “He tried to encourage them to stay in college; he really did.” Norris was not without the ability to bring the entire office to laughter. In fact, he did so unintentionally one af-
ternoon when his car was in the shop. He asked to borrow a secretary’s car but was having quite a bit of difficulty getting the key to fit in the ignition. “It didn’t work really well,” Godwin said, pointing out that a teacher, Jim Clifton, had to help him get it cranked. Off he headed to The News Reporter in his secretary’s car – or so he thought. Secretary Penny Strickland soon learned that her car remained in the parking lot long after Norris supposedly left with it. Norris had not taken her car. It was a police officer who would break the news to Norris upon stopping him for driving a stolen vehicle owned by a dean at the college. It was a big mix-up, Godwin said. Godwin said during her career the atmosphere at the college was wonderful. Her husband Jackie, a pastor and math teacher working in Bladenboro, ultimately joined her on the campus
as an adult education teacher prior to taking the pastor’s position at Beaverdam Original Freewill Baptist Church. “We were all like family,” she said. “I knew the students and really the whole college was family. I always enjoyed working there.” “I was blessed,” Godwin said of her career at SCC that spanned 31 years. She retired in 1996, taking with her a treasure trove of memories and a genuine love for the college. Godwin’s only regret perhaps is that she herself was not a graduate of SCC. “I wish it had been there when I finished high school at Cerro Gordo,” said Godwin, who attended a secretarial program at the then two-year college, Campbell. She is thrilled it is an opportunity afforded to her son Neil, who took vocational classes, and today her grandson, Cody Godwin, 19, who is
See Minnie Godwin, page 50
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 49
SCC has prominent role Continued from page 14 development, training, seminars, counseling and resource information. In addition, the SBC connects entrepreneurs with potential local, regional and state funding sources. One of the most important factors for a business or industry considering locating, expanding or remaining in Columbus County is the ability of the county to ensure a well-trained workforce. The Division’s Customized Industrial Training Program is designed to react quickly to the needs of business and industry while respecting the confidential nature of proprietary processes and information within those businesses/industries. The program provides customized training assistance in support of full-time production and direct customer service positions created in Columbus County, thereby enhancing the growth potential of companies located in the county while simultaneously preparing the workforce with the skills essential to successful employment in emerging industries.
providing current labor market information to employers and job-seekers, hosting employment application sessions for businesses/industries, scheduling personnel interviews for employers and co-sponsoring activities/functions with local chambers of commerce.
Columbus County JobLink Career Center
Technology has always played a big role at SCC. Through its many partnerships, the Workforce and Community Development Division is actively engaged in additional economic development activities throughout Columbus
County. These activities include coordinating annual job fairs and expos, recruiting employees for business/ industry, meeting with industrial prospects to discuss training options,
Southeastern Community College hosts the Columbus County JobLink Career Center, which is a part of the N.C. Department of Commerce Workforce Center system. Through partnerships and collaborations with numerous agencies, programs and grant sources, the JobLink Career Center provides optimum opportunities for employment and training in Columbus County, supporting economic development and maximizing growth for businesses and industry. Through the four operating principles of universality, customer choice,
See Prominent role, next page
Williamson, Walton & Scott, L.L.P. ATTORNEYS AT LAW
Thank You
SOUTHEASTERN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Edward L. Williamson (1923 - 2013) Founding General Counsel for SCC
C. Martin Scott II, C. Greg Williamson, Benton H. Walton, III and Carlton F. Williamson, Edward L. Williamson (1923 - 2013)
We appreciate the many contributions you make to our community. We are proud to have served as attorneys for SCC for 50 years.
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Southeastern Community College – 50 Years – February 6, 2014 – Page 50
SCC has prominent role Continued from previous page integration of service, and outcomebased measures, individuals can access resources, counseling and assistance needed to make good decisions about their career training and employment needs. Employers also receive numerous services to help improve their workforce, such as assistance recruiting qualified, job-ready employees and access to on-the-job training. When it first opened in 1993 as the Employment and Skills Training Center, the Columbus County center served as one of three model “One-Stops” in North Carolina. The official JobLink Grand Opening was held June 1997. Currently, it is participating in North Carolina’s transition to integrated Workforce Centers. The center has received several national and state awards for excellence in service delivery and employment outcomes. Through collaboration with other programs at SCC, the Center annually receives several grants to provide additional financial resources for both individuals and businesses, including
C C
Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Project Skill-UP, and Displaced Homemakers. These grants often total more than $800,000 per year. While generously hosted by SCC, 10 state and local governmental and private non-profit agencies partner to offer services to more than 10,000 customers per year.
SBC facts:
1. Since 2004, 171 businesses have started with the assistance of the SBC, creating 566 jobs. 2. Since 2001, with the assistance of the SBC, 22 loans were approved through the NC Rural Center Microenterprise Loan Program for a total of $221,990. 3. Since the implementation of the Microenterprise Loan Program in 1992, the SBC has been the recipient of two NC Rural Center statewide Technical Assistance Awards for Outstanding Performance. 4. SCC’s SBC won the NCCCS Small Business Center Network NC Center of Excellence Award in 2005; NCCCS
OLUMBUS
FAMILY
HIROPRACTIC
CENTER
Small Business Center Network Southeast Regional Center of Excellence Award in 2012 and NCCCS Small Business Center Network NC Center of Excellence Award in 2012. 5. In 2011, SBC client Leigh Fowler was first runner-up in the Entrepreneurial Open Southeast NC Business Plan Competition for her new business SmART Studio to Go. SCC provides adults in the Basic Skills program the assistance to learn and to obtain knowledge and skills necessary for employment and self-sufficiency, assist adults who are parents to obtain educational skills required to become full partners in the educational development of their children, and assist adults in the completion of a high school education. The Basic Skills program provides educational opportunities for adults to improve their reading, writing and mathematics skills. All classes are open enrollment and self-paced. Books and other study
materials are furnished at no cost to the student. While students may attend a basic skills class on campus, SCC provides numerous locations throughout the county. Morning, afternoon and evening classes are offered, making it convenient for students to enroll at any of the 14 locations. From 1973 to 2013, a total of 4,872 people have received their high school equivalency through SCC.
Minnie Godwin Continued from page 48 a student in the criminal justice program. Her daughter-in-law, Star Godwin, is a graduate of the SCC nursing program and holds a master’s of science in nursing and is a certified nurse anesthetist. “I’m glad SCC was there for the students then and now,” Godwin said.
Thank SCC you
for 50 years of helping area residents reach their full potential
Thank you, SCC, for 50 years of making Columbus County a better place to live.
Dr. William E. PrEasE ChiropraCtor
(910) 654-3581 5754 Chadbourn Hwy., Chadbourn, NC Hours: Mon -Wed -Thu 8:30 - 12 noon/2-6 pm Tues. 2 - 6 pm • Fri. 8:30 - 12 noon
7 Locations in Columbus County to serve you
Columbus County Commissioners Congratulations and Thank You
for your 50 years of service to education and a better quality of life to our citizens.
Seated, left to right: Trent Burroughs, District V, Vice Chairman; Edwin Russ, District IV, Chairman; Charles McDowell, District VII; Standing: County Attorney Mike Stephens; Buddy Byrd, District III; James Prevatte, District II; June Hall, Clerk to the Board; Amon McKenzie, District I; Ricky Bullard, District VI; Bill Clark, County Administrator.
Working together for the citizens of Columbus County 111 Washington Street
Whiteville, North Carolina
910-642-5700
We congratulate faculty and staff, past and present, for 50 successful years, and we thank the students for eating lots of Domino’s Pizza!
WHITEVILLE • 640-2211
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