A celebration of the Beulah Padgett Whichard Honored Educator Scholarship took place on November 28, 2022, at the Clay County Board of Education Meeting in Hayesville, NC.
This scholarship was established in honor of the late Beulah Padgett Whichard, who was a native of Clay County and taught in Clay and Durham County Schools for 30 years. The Honorable Willis P. Whichard, a retired college law school dean, retired judge, and former legislator, established this scholarship in honor of his mother. NCCAT's Beulah Padgett Whichard Honored Educator Scholarship pays tribute to her lifelong commitment to the teaching profession. Click here for further explanation on the scholarship and its expansion.
The following teachers from Clay County were recognized Sally Brock, Tiffany Clapsaddle, Melanie Thompson, Jeanine Craig, Carla Beck and Amanda Gaddis.
“From now on, every year, a teacher from Clay County will attend an NCCAT seminar as a Whichard Scholar,” Judge Whichard told the Clay County Board of Education. “That is what we celebrate tonight. My thanks to Superintendent Dale Cole and to the members of this board for arranging this occasion. It pleases me greatly to know that, in perpetuity, a teacher from this system will benefit from NCCAT’s professional development programs and that in the process my mother and her teaching career will be honored in perpetuity as well.”
NCCAT Executive Director Dr. M. Brock Womble expressed appreciation for Judge Whichard's commitment to North Carolina teachers and students through NCCAT. Whichard has served on both the NCCAT Board of Trustees and the NCCAT Development Foundation Board of Directors. He began his service with NCCAT in 1998.
NCCAT now has 40 fully funded scholarships, with plans to have one for each school system in the state. Fourteen other scholarships currently are in the process of being funded. For a listing of Honored Educator Scholarships and information on how to create one, click here.
If you would like to learn more about this program or how to start a new scholarship fund, please contact Development Associate Emily Langdon with the Development Foundation of NCCAT Inc. at 828-293-5202 or [email protected].