Surry Business

John S. Clark Company LLC in Mount Airy, one of the Triad’s oldest and largest general contractors and a leading design/build company in the Southeast, is donating $25,000 in scholarships to students at five community colleges in areas where the company has operations. The scholarships will also serve to commemorate John S. Clark’s 50th anniversary celebration this year.

John S. Clark Company presented the first $5,000 to the Surry Community College Foundation, which will benefit 10 students attending Surry Community College in Dobson. In coming weeks, the company will also present $5,000 checks at Forsyth Technical Community College, Guilford Technical Community College, Brunswick Community College and Cape Fear Community College.

Each school may award 10 scholarships, half of them to students selected from among the “non-traditional student” category; that is, adult students returning to school due to job loss or downsizing. All scholarship candidates must be full-time students majoring in a curriculum related to the construction industry; be residents of the college’s home county or an adjacent county; be able to demonstrate financial need; and fulfill several other criteria. Administrators at each college will handle the selection process and propose potential scholarship winners to John S. Clark Company.

“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 Richard Vaughn, John S. Clark’s chief executive officer. “The scholarship program represents a continuum in our history of support to communities 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.”

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 its headquarters in Mount Airy and full-service offices in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Wilmington.