; View Photo Gallery » ;;;Two Catawba College Trustees were honored Wednesday, May 17 at Catawba College as the recipients of the prestigious Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Presentations to Newton O. Fowler of Concord and C.A. "Junie" Michael, III '70 of Mooresville were mad...

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;;;Two Catawba College Trustees were honored Wednesday, May 17 at Catawba College as the recipients of the prestigious Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Presentations to Newton O. Fowler of Concord and C.A. "Junie" Michael, III '70 of Mooresville were made during the College's annual President's Circle Dinner, held to recognize the institution's major donors, in the Cannon Student Center.

The award is given each year to the individual who has played a major role in supporting the college and its programs through their time, talent and resources. It was established in 1983 in honor of trustee emeritus Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. of Conover, who died in 2000.

Catawba College President Dr. Robert Knott presented the awards to the two in front of an audience of approximately 300 individuals. He cited Fowler and Michael as "role models to be emulated." He said each had "demonstrated foresight, strength of character and courage in his support of and loyalty to Catawba College."

Fowler, a native of Mt. Airy, is a graduate of the University of Richmond where he played football while earning his bachelor's degree and later his mater's degree. He enjoyed a long and productive 38-year career with Philip Morris before retiring in 1993 as the founding general manager of that company's Concord manufacturing center. Fowler helped start and grow that facility to employ 2,000 people.

He has served on numerous boards, including the N.C. Board of Science and Mathematics, the UNC-Charlotte Board of Visitors, and the Foundation for Good Business, all of which he has chaired. In 1995, Catawba awarded him an honorary doctorate of humanitarian service degree and then tapped him for service on its Board of Trustees in 1996.

For five years, from 1997 through 2002, Fowler chaired the Campaign for Catawba which raised $59.6 million, the largest campaign in the College's history. That campaign exceeded its set goal of $56.5 million and raised the bar for other institutions of comparable size in North Carolina. Additionally, Fowler has long been a supporter of the Catawba Chiefs Club and last year, he and his wife established an Endowed Scholarship at the institution.

Fowler is married to the former Nancy Fling. They are parents of a 1985 Catawba College alumnus, Dr. W. Edward Fowler of Greenwood, S.C., and daughter Margaret Fowler Porter of Concord, who is employed as a teacher at Mt. Pleasant High School.

Knott lauded Fowler for "his courage to step up when it would have been easier to stand down" and noted that his service to the institution has made it "better and stronger."

Michael, who grew up in Lexington, majored in business while a student at Catawba and during the summers of his college years, he worked at a car dealership in Winston-Salem. Two year after his Catawba graduation, he was promoted to sales manager of that Winston-Salem dealership. Today, he owns a dealership, Parkway Ford in Winston-Salem, and is principal partner in 32 other dealerships. Michael is married to wife Teresa and they are parents of an adult daughter, Joy.

He is a former board member of the Ford Dealer Advertising Association, the Better Business Bureau for North Carolina, the United Way of Forsyth County, the Advisory Council of Wake Forest University's School of Business and Accountancy, and Wachovia Bank of N.C. In 1996, he was tapped for service on Catawba's Board of Visitors, but only served one year before he moved to the College Board of Trustees. In 2000, he received Catawba's Distinguished Alumnus Award.

A regular contributor to Catawba's annual fund, Michael made a significant contribution to the Campaign for Catawba and last year established an endowed scholarship in honor of his mother and in memory of his father. In 2004, when Catawba launched its $35 million endowment campaign, this honoree stepped up as its chairman. Knott said Michael "was undeterred by the fact that not many schools the size of Catawba had ever attempted such a five-year endowment effort."   A scant two years later, that endowment effort successfully reached and exceeded its goal thanks in part to Michael's personal contribution to the effort.

"He has repeatedly stepped forward to help Catawba College meet its various challenges, always with a willing and generous spirit," Knott said of Michael. "It is with appreciation for his loyalty, support and service that we honor him today."

Fowler and Michael are respectively the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth recipients of the Shuford Award. Other recipients and the year in which they received the award include Dr. Theodore P. Leonard, 1983; Enoch A. Goodman, 1984; Clifford A. Peeler, 1985; James F. Hurley, 1986; Ralph W. Ketner, 1987; Elizabeth C. Stanback, 1988; Roy E. Leinbach, Jr., 1989; Frances H. Johnson, 1990; Patricia P. Rendleman, 1991; Mariam Cannon Hayes, 1992; Tom E. Smith, 1993; Claude S. Abernethy, Jr., 1994; Millard F. Wilson, 1995; Fred J. Stanback, Jr., 1996; Paul E. Fisher, 1997; Daniel E. Kirk, 1998; Mary O. Dearborn, 1999; Wilson L. Smith, 2000; Marion M. Richard, 2001; J. Fred and Bonnie Corriher, 2002; William C. Stanback, 2003; Jacqueline C. Leonard, 2004; and Charles Taylor, Jr., 2005

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Two Catawba College Trustees were honored Wednesday, May 16 at Catawba College as the recipients of the prestigious Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Presentations to Claude B. Hampton, Jr. of Salisbury and James L. Williamson of Charlotte were made during the College's annual ...

Two Catawba College Trustees were honored Wednesday, May 16 at Catawba College as the recipients of the prestigious Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Presentations to Claude B. Hampton, Jr. of Salisbury and James L. Williamson of Charlotte were made during the College's annual President's Circle Dinner, held to recognize the institution's major donors, in the Cannon Student Center.

The award is given each year to the individual who has played a major role in supporting the college and its programs through their time, talent and resources. It was established in 1983 in honor of trustee emeritus Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. of Conover, who died in 2000.

Catawba College President Dr. Robert Knott presented the awards to the two in front of an audience of close to 300 individuals. He cited Hampton and Williamson as men "who have greatly enhanced the institution by their willingness to commit to long-term service on the Board." He said both had "enjoyed very successful careers in the business world and are role models to be emulated."

"The attributes which made them successful in business — a strong work ethic, diplomacy, and professionalism — have also made them successful as trustees of Catawba College," Knott said.

Both Hampton and Williamson are strong supporters of the institution. Each has established a First Family Scholarship at the College and avidly supports various capital and endowment campaigns, as well as Catawba's athletic programs.

Claude B. Hampton, Jr. 
Hampton, who was born in Newton and grew up in Statesville, served in the United States Air Force during World War II and was decorated with the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. After his military service, he attended Catawba and earned a degree in business in 1948.

A year after his graduation from Catawba, Hampton joined Nabisco and advanced through the Biscuit Division's field selling organization before being named vice president of sales in 1976. In 1978, he was elected vice president of Nabisco, Inc., and president of the Biscuit Division. In 1981, he was named to the additional position of senior vice president and group executive, Nabisco Brands U.S.A.

In 1985, he was named executive vice president at Nabisco, but that same year, he elected instead to take early retirement and accept an invitation to join the Catawba College Board of Trustees. He and his late wife, Edith, moved back to Salisbury from New Jersey where they had made their home, and Hampton also began serving Catawba as an adjunct professor of business education.

A former director for Chubb Life Insurance Company, Hampton has served on a variety of other business boards. In 1986, Catawba awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Hampton earned his master's degree in marketing from the School of Business and International Marketing at Syracuse University and a degree from the advanced management program at Harvard University.

He is father of two adult children and two grandchildren.

James L. Williamson
Williamson, a North Carolina native who was raised in Forest City, is a 1954 alumnus of Catawba. He earned his undergraduate degree in accounting and went on to obtain his M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He used his degrees to rise in the ranks as a certified public accountant at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co. or Charlotte, eventually becoming a partner in that firm.

Williamson has served as president of Catawba's Alumni Board, as a member of the Business Advisory Council of the Ketner School of Business, and the Planned Giving Advisory Board.  He chaired the Charlotte Alumni Campaign Organization during Catawba's Campaign for Excellence, and served on the Campaign Steering Committee of another capital effort. He was a member of the Presidential Search Committee in the early 1990s.

In 1987, Catawba honored Williamson with its Distinguished Alumnus Award and tapped him for service on its Board of Trustees. In 1993, Catawba awarded him its O.B. Michael Award.

He is involved in numerous professional organizations. He was a member and president of the Charlotte Athletic Club, a member of the Charlotte Chapter of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the N.C. Association of Certified Public Accountants. He also served on the Board of Advisors for Providence Day School.

Williamson and wife Joanne, are parents of two daughters and are members of Hawthorne Lane United Methodist Church in Charlotte.

Other Adrian L. Shuford Award Recipients 
Hampton and Williamson are respectively the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth recipients of the Shuford Award. Other recipients and the year in which they received the award include Dr. Theodore P. Leonard, 1983; Enoch A. Goodman, 1984; Clifford A. Peeler, 1985; James F. Hurley, 1986; Ralph W. Ketner, 1987; Elizabeth C. Stanback, 1988; Roy E. Leinbach, Jr., 1989; Frances H. Johnson, 1990; Patricia P. Rendleman, 1991; Mariam Cannon Hayes, 1992; Tom E. Smith, 1993; Claude S. Abernethy, Jr., 1994; Millard F. Wilson, 1995; Fred J. Stanback, Jr., 1996; Paul E. Fisher, 1997; Daniel E. Kirk, 1998; Mary O. Dearborn, 1999; Wilson L. Smith, 2000; Marion M. Richard, 2001; J. Fred and Bonnie Corriher, 2002; William C. Stanback, 2003; Jacqueline C. Leonard, 2004; Charles Taylor, Jr., 2005; Newton O. Fowler and C.A. “Junie” Michael III, 2006.

RELATED CONTENT:

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• PHOTOS: 2007 President's Circle Dinner
  
  

; View Photo Gallery » ;;;Two Catawba College Trustees were honored Wednesday, May 17 at Catawba College as the recipients of the prestigious Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Presentations to Newton O. Fowler of Concord and C.A. "Junie" Michael, III '70 of Mooresville were mad...

;

View Photo Gallery »

;;;Two Catawba College Trustees were honored Wednesday, May 17 at Catawba College as the recipients of the prestigious Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Presentations to Newton O. Fowler of Concord and C.A. "Junie" Michael, III '70 of Mooresville were made during the College's annual President's Circle Dinner, held to recognize the institution's major donors, in the Cannon Student Center.

The award is given each year to the individual who has played a major role in supporting the college and its programs through their time, talent and resources. It was established in 1983 in honor of trustee emeritus Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. of Conover, who died in 2000.

Catawba College President Dr. Robert Knott presented the awards to the two in front of an audience of approximately 300 individuals. He cited Fowler and Michael as "role models to be emulated." He said each had "demonstrated foresight, strength of character and courage in his support of and loyalty to Catawba College."

Fowler, a native of Mt. Airy, is a graduate of the University of Richmond where he played football while earning his bachelor's degree and later his mater's degree. He enjoyed a long and productive 38-year career with Philip Morris before retiring in 1993 as the founding general manager of that company's Concord manufacturing center. Fowler helped start and grow that facility to employ 2,000 people.

He has served on numerous boards, including the N.C. Board of Science and Mathematics, the UNC-Charlotte Board of Visitors, and the Foundation for Good Business, all of which he has chaired. In 1995, Catawba awarded him an honorary doctorate of humanitarian service degree and then tapped him for service on its Board of Trustees in 1996.

For five years, from 1997 through 2002, Fowler chaired the Campaign for Catawba which raised $59.6 million, the largest campaign in the College's history. That campaign exceeded its set goal of $56.5 million and raised the bar for other institutions of comparable size in North Carolina. Additionally, Fowler has long been a supporter of the Catawba Chiefs Club and last year, he and his wife established an Endowed Scholarship at the institution.

Fowler is married to the former Nancy Fling. They are parents of a 1985 Catawba College alumnus, Dr. W. Edward Fowler of Greenwood, S.C., and daughter Margaret Fowler Porter of Concord, who is employed as a teacher at Mt. Pleasant High School.

Knott lauded Fowler for "his courage to step up when it would have been easier to stand down" and noted that his service to the institution has made it "better and stronger."

Michael, who grew up in Lexington, majored in business while a student at Catawba and during the summers of his college years, he worked at a car dealership in Winston-Salem. Two year after his Catawba graduation, he was promoted to sales manager of that Winston-Salem dealership. Today, he owns a dealership, Parkway Ford in Winston-Salem, and is principal partner in 32 other dealerships. Michael is married to wife Teresa and they are parents of an adult daughter, Joy.

He is a former board member of the Ford Dealer Advertising Association, the Better Business Bureau for North Carolina, the United Way of Forsyth County, the Advisory Council of Wake Forest University's School of Business and Accountancy, and Wachovia Bank of N.C. In 1996, he was tapped for service on Catawba's Board of Visitors, but only served one year before he moved to the College Board of Trustees. In 2000, he received Catawba's Distinguished Alumnus Award.

A regular contributor to Catawba's annual fund, Michael made a significant contribution to the Campaign for Catawba and last year established an endowed scholarship in honor of his mother and in memory of his father. In 2004, when Catawba launched its $35 million endowment campaign, this honoree stepped up as its chairman. Knott said Michael "was undeterred by the fact that not many schools the size of Catawba had ever attempted such a five-year endowment effort."   A scant two years later, that endowment effort successfully reached and exceeded its goal thanks in part to Michael's personal contribution to the effort.

"He has repeatedly stepped forward to help Catawba College meet its various challenges, always with a willing and generous spirit," Knott said of Michael. "It is with appreciation for his loyalty, support and service that we honor him today."

Fowler and Michael are respectively the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth recipients of the Shuford Award. Other recipients and the year in which they received the award include Dr. Theodore P. Leonard, 1983; Enoch A. Goodman, 1984; Clifford A. Peeler, 1985; James F. Hurley, 1986; Ralph W. Ketner, 1987; Elizabeth C. Stanback, 1988; Roy E. Leinbach, Jr., 1989; Frances H. Johnson, 1990; Patricia P. Rendleman, 1991; Mariam Cannon Hayes, 1992; Tom E. Smith, 1993; Claude S. Abernethy, Jr., 1994; Millard F. Wilson, 1995; Fred J. Stanback, Jr., 1996; Paul E. Fisher, 1997; Daniel E. Kirk, 1998; Mary O. Dearborn, 1999; Wilson L. Smith, 2000; Marion M. Richard, 2001; J. Fred and Bonnie Corriher, 2002; William C. Stanback, 2003; Jacqueline C. Leonard, 2004; and Charles Taylor, Jr., 2005

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View Photo Gallery » ;

Two Catawba College Trustees were honored Wednesday, May 16 at Catawba College as the recipients of the prestigious Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Presentations to Claude B. Hampton, Jr. of Salisbury and James L. Williamson of Charlotte were made during the College's annual ...

Two Catawba College Trustees were honored Wednesday, May 16 at Catawba College as the recipients of the prestigious Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. Award for Distinguished Service. Presentations to Claude B. Hampton, Jr. of Salisbury and James L. Williamson of Charlotte were made during the College's annual President's Circle Dinner, held to recognize the institution's major donors, in the Cannon Student Center.

The award is given each year to the individual who has played a major role in supporting the college and its programs through their time, talent and resources. It was established in 1983 in honor of trustee emeritus Adrian L. Shuford, Jr. of Conover, who died in 2000.

Catawba College President Dr. Robert Knott presented the awards to the two in front of an audience of close to 300 individuals. He cited Hampton and Williamson as men "who have greatly enhanced the institution by their willingness to commit to long-term service on the Board." He said both had "enjoyed very successful careers in the business world and are role models to be emulated."

"The attributes which made them successful in business — a strong work ethic, diplomacy, and professionalism — have also made them successful as trustees of Catawba College," Knott said.

Both Hampton and Williamson are strong supporters of the institution. Each has established a First Family Scholarship at the College and avidly supports various capital and endowment campaigns, as well as Catawba's athletic programs.

Claude B. Hampton, Jr. 
Hampton, who was born in Newton and grew up in Statesville, served in the United States Air Force during World War II and was decorated with the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. After his military service, he attended Catawba and earned a degree in business in 1948.

A year after his graduation from Catawba, Hampton joined Nabisco and advanced through the Biscuit Division's field selling organization before being named vice president of sales in 1976. In 1978, he was elected vice president of Nabisco, Inc., and president of the Biscuit Division. In 1981, he was named to the additional position of senior vice president and group executive, Nabisco Brands U.S.A.

In 1985, he was named executive vice president at Nabisco, but that same year, he elected instead to take early retirement and accept an invitation to join the Catawba College Board of Trustees. He and his late wife, Edith, moved back to Salisbury from New Jersey where they had made their home, and Hampton also began serving Catawba as an adjunct professor of business education.

A former director for Chubb Life Insurance Company, Hampton has served on a variety of other business boards. In 1986, Catawba awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Hampton earned his master's degree in marketing from the School of Business and International Marketing at Syracuse University and a degree from the advanced management program at Harvard University.

He is father of two adult children and two grandchildren.

James L. Williamson
Williamson, a North Carolina native who was raised in Forest City, is a 1954 alumnus of Catawba. He earned his undergraduate degree in accounting and went on to obtain his M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He used his degrees to rise in the ranks as a certified public accountant at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co. or Charlotte, eventually becoming a partner in that firm.

Williamson has served as president of Catawba's Alumni Board, as a member of the Business Advisory Council of the Ketner School of Business, and the Planned Giving Advisory Board.  He chaired the Charlotte Alumni Campaign Organization during Catawba's Campaign for Excellence, and served on the Campaign Steering Committee of another capital effort. He was a member of the Presidential Search Committee in the early 1990s.

In 1987, Catawba honored Williamson with its Distinguished Alumnus Award and tapped him for service on its Board of Trustees. In 1993, Catawba awarded him its O.B. Michael Award.

He is involved in numerous professional organizations. He was a member and president of the Charlotte Athletic Club, a member of the Charlotte Chapter of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the N.C. Association of Certified Public Accountants. He also served on the Board of Advisors for Providence Day School.

Williamson and wife Joanne, are parents of two daughters and are members of Hawthorne Lane United Methodist Church in Charlotte.

Other Adrian L. Shuford Award Recipients 
Hampton and Williamson are respectively the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth recipients of the Shuford Award. Other recipients and the year in which they received the award include Dr. Theodore P. Leonard, 1983; Enoch A. Goodman, 1984; Clifford A. Peeler, 1985; James F. Hurley, 1986; Ralph W. Ketner, 1987; Elizabeth C. Stanback, 1988; Roy E. Leinbach, Jr., 1989; Frances H. Johnson, 1990; Patricia P. Rendleman, 1991; Mariam Cannon Hayes, 1992; Tom E. Smith, 1993; Claude S. Abernethy, Jr., 1994; Millard F. Wilson, 1995; Fred J. Stanback, Jr., 1996; Paul E. Fisher, 1997; Daniel E. Kirk, 1998; Mary O. Dearborn, 1999; Wilson L. Smith, 2000; Marion M. Richard, 2001; J. Fred and Bonnie Corriher, 2002; William C. Stanback, 2003; Jacqueline C. Leonard, 2004; Charles Taylor, Jr., 2005; Newton O. Fowler and C.A. “Junie” Michael III, 2006.

RELATED CONTENT:

;

;
• PHOTOS: 2007 President's Circle Dinner