Former and current members of the Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers gathered at Jefferson Landing Thursday morning to tee off for the ninth annual Watauga-Ashe-Wilkes Scholarship Endowment Golf Tournament.

Over 150 golfers hit the course trying to tame the Jefferson Landing course in an effort to raise funds for needy students.

Event Organizer Phil Stevens explained that the purpose of the charity tournament is to provide a hand-up to a local student wishing to attend college who may not be able to do so otherwise due to a financial situation.

“It’s just our way of giving back to the community,” he said.

Since the event’s inception, 24 High Country students have been given the chance to attend college through scholarships funded by the benefit.

“At any one time, we are helping 16 kids go to college,” Stevens said.

The event’s aim is to provide at least one scholarship to a deserving student in each benefiting county (Ashe, Watauga, and Wilkes).

According to the event’s press release, the board of the WAW Scholarship Endowment solicits corporate and individual gifts and uses the proceeds from the golf tournament in order to build the fund. Since 2002, the endowment has given over $100,000 in scholarships.

One local student, Elizabeth Hodges, expressed her gratitude in obtaining school funds through the golf tournament.

“The Watauga-Ashe-Wilkes Scholarship is a blessing in my life. It has helped me start on my journey towards my goal of becoming an elementary school teacher,” Hodges writes. “It is just the beginning of my first semester in college, and there is an adventure ahead of me, but I am on this adventure with help of the scholarship. I am thankful for every blessing in my life, especially the generosity of the WAW scholarships.”

Halee Hartley, a Lees-McRae student, allowed her to attend a private institution, relieving her family of any financial distress.

“This scholarship has helped me in the way that it has been added to my already received scholarships. All these scholarships added together have allowed me to attend Lees-McRae which is a private, expensive school,” she said.

Hartley goes on to say: “This scholarship has allowed my dad to not have to worry about taking out loans and borrowing money to pay my way through college.”

This year’s list of scholarship winners include: Halee Hartley (Watauga), Opal Elizabeth Hodges (Watauga), Amber Cox (Ashe), and Lindsey Belote (Wilkes).

For additional information on scholarship endowment, please contact Phil Stevens at (336) 667-6111, Charles Hartzog at (704) 458-2933, or Kimberly Barnes at 982-3900.