J.P. Taylor Company establishes Scholarships at VGCC
A pair of Vance-Granville Community College students will receive scholarships worth $2,500 each during the 2014-15 academic year, thanks to contributions from J.P. Taylor Company, L.L.C., a subsidiary of Universal Leaf North America, U.S., Inc.
In awarding the J.P. Taylor Company annual scholarship, priority will be given to students who are employees of the company, spouses and children of employees, as well as those enrolled in the College Transfer , Business Administration , Electronics Engineering Technology or Computer Information Technology programs. Scholarship recipients must also meet certain academic requirements.
The newest gifts are in addition to two scholarships that the company has already endowed: the Universal Leaf North America, U.S. Academic Achievement and Frank Tedder Memorial/J.P. Taylor Employees/Universal Leaf Academic Achievement scholarships.
Universal Leaf North America, U.S., headquartered in Nashville, North Carolina, has operations in Nashville, Oxford and Rocky Mount. The company’s philanthropic arm, the Universal Leaf Foundation, is dedicated to social responsibility for the communities in which Universal and its subsidiaries have a physical presence or significant business interest. Higher education is one of the foundation’s four focus categories of giving.
Local J.P. Taylor Company general manager Dwight Green and Universal Leaf vice president of human resources Vanessa Smith visited VGCC to present the scholarship donations on behalf of the company to the college’s Endowment Fund. They expressed their delight in continuing their organization’s partnership with VGCC, which reflects their belief in supporting education, economic development and community service.
“On behalf of our students, we want to express our gratitude to J.P. Taylor Company and Universal Leaf for investing in an educated workforce,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, president of VGCC. “Our business and community partners’ strong support is critical to helping our students achieve professional and personal success, and to helping Vance-Granville lead the economic development for our region.”
Through the Endowment Fund, VGCC has awarded more than 7,000 scholarships to students since 1982. For more information about the Endowment Fund , call (252) 738-3409 .
Above: From left, Dwight Green of Henderson, general manager for J.P. Taylor Company, and Vanessa Smith of Wilson, vice president of human resources for Universal Leaf North America (which has facilities in Granville and Nash counties), present contributions creating the new scholarships to VGCC Endowment Director Eddie Ferguson. (VGCC photo)
