To commemorate the occasion, John S. Clark Company representatives, Jim Walker (President), Frank Smith (Wilmington Division Executive Vice President), and Livian Jones (Wilmington Division Business Development Manager) presented a check to Cape Fear Community College leadership.  Eager to learn more about the scholarship, students from the college’s HVAC program attended the ceremony.

“With the successes that John S. Clark has enjoyed over the decades, we are fortunate to be in a position to help one of our most valuable assets, our community-college students,” said Frank Smith, John S. Clark’s Wilmington Division Executive Vice President. “The scholarship program represents a continuum in our history of support to the community resources that sustain us and enrich our lives. And it is equally satisfying that the scholarships will contribute to helping displaced workers prepare for re-entry into the job market.”

Besides Cape Fear Community College, four other colleges in John S. Clark’s areas of operations will receive $5,000 scholarships. Those schools are Forsyth Technical Community College, Guilford Technical Community College, Brunswick Community College and Surry Community College.

The Financial-Aid Office at Cape Fear Community College, as well as those of the other four colleges, will advertise for applicants, screen candidates and propose potential scholarship awardees to John. S. Clark for final selection.

Selection will be based on several criteria. Five of the candidates must be classified as “non-traditional” adult students returning to school. The other five candidates will be chosen from among “traditional” students, or those graduated from high school in Spring, 2008.

Candidates must also be full-time students majoring in a curriculum related to the construction industry; be able to demonstrate financial need, and, for 2008 high-school graduates, have a minimum high-school grade-point average of 3.0. Scholarships must be used for tuition, fees and books, with unused funds returned to the college.

John S. Clark Company is one of the oldest and largest general building contractors in

North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad and in the Southeast, and a leading provider of in-house design-build services.

Founded in 1958, the company has headquarters in Mount Airy and full-service offices in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Wilmington, N.C. Its broad expertise covers

industrial, commercial, multi-family, retail, health sciences, technology and institutional construction. It also handles tenant upfits and building improvement projects.

The company attributes its longevity to the quality of its management and professional staff as well as its history of community support. John S. Clark is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is committed to sustainable design and construction.  The company has several LEED Accredited Professionals on staff including key members of its design team and has been instrumental in starting the Piedmont Triad Chapter of the USGBC.

Now part of Obayashi USA LLC, John S. Clark has worked on some of the most recognizable projects in the Southeast. Its customer base includes large national and global companies such as Wal-Mart, CVS and IKEA. It has consistently been ranked in

Engineering News-Record’s “Top 200 General Construction Firms in the U.S.” and in

The Business Journal’s “Top Five General Construction Firms in North Carolina.”