Athletic booster club endowment to fund scholarships

The first two scholar athletes were presented scholarships last month funded through the new Perquimans Athletic Booster Club Scholarship Endowment.

Ellie Ward and Jacob Nixon were presented the booster club’s Perquimans High School Male and Female Athlete of the Year college scholarships at an annual awards dinner in May.

The PQ Athletic Booster Club Scholarship Endowment, administered by the Perquimans County Schools Foundation, was created to provide scholarships each year to Perquimans High senior athletes seeking to further their education. The endowment also will help the athletic booster club achieve its goals of encouraging sports involvement by a majority of the student body, excellence in performance, good sportsmanship by athletes and spectators, and recognition of athletes as students first.

“We admire the vision of the athletic booster club in creating this endowment to secure future scholarships for our athletes,” said Carson Stallings, president of the Perquimans County Schools Foundation. “The success of the boosters is due in part to the hard work, organization and dedication of its co-presidents, Chris and Chrissy Brabble.”

Chris Brabble said local support was key to establishing the endowment.

“The support of the local businesses, individuals and volunteers has been amazing,” he said. “We are excited to announce (that) two scholarships will be available each year to honor a male and female scholar athlete.... This is a way to give back to our students in perpetuity.”

According to Stallings, the PQ Athletic Booster Club Endowment has been established with Stifel Investments in the name of the PQ Athletic Booster Scholar Athlete Award for $20,000 and will permanently fund the Perquimans High School Male and Female Athlete of the Year college scholarships. The scholarships will be awarded each year from the earnings of the endowment.

Beginning in 2025, an application process will be used and managed by the PCSF. Applicants should be involved in at least one sport, with no ejections, during their tenure as an athlete.

In addition to the new scholarships, the athletic booster club helps pay for Perquimans athletes to travel to regional and state competitions, equipment and funding for all sports at the high school, food, and transportation and lodging for teams competing for state titles.

The Brabbles credit members and volunteers with the booster club’s success over the past few years.

“Officers like Ashley Gregory, Natalie Brown, Julie Solesbee, Karen Votava and Tammi Proctor have poured many volunteer hours into activities and fundraisers for the booster club,” Chris Brabble said. “Our students are the beneficiaries of their dedication.”