The Thomas and Bettie O'Briant Memorial Scholarship

Anna Bethel, 2012 Scholarship Winner

The Thomas and Bettie O’Briant Memorial scholarship is all about giving back to the young people in our Guilford County community.  Golf tournaments on all levels seek to be involved in community charitable activities.  The Cardinal Amateur has been a leader in this endeavor dating back to 1983 when the first educational scholarship was announced.  The scholarship has grown from a one time $1000 award in 1983 to the current 4 year $1500 award.  A total of $6000 is awarded each year from the scholarship foundation.  The non-profit scholarship is administered by the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro and is open to any rising college freshman graduating from a Guilford County High School.  The award is based primarily on the basis of need.  The Thomas and Bettie O’Briant Memorial Scholarship is funded from proceeds received from the Cardinal Amateur Golf Tournament, a raffle held in conjunction with the golf tournament, as well as corporate and private donations.  The Scholarship has awarded $119,000 to 31 deserving students since its beginning in 1983. Tax-deductible contributions to the scholarship can be made any time throughout the year at the Cardinal Golf and Country Club. Donations in honor and memory of family and friends are welcomed.
 

The Thomas and Bettie O'Briant Memorial Scholarship selection committee
is pleased to present the 2012 scholarship recipients. Our newest winner
for 2012 is Anna Bethel, daughter of Lee Ann Bethel of High Point, NC. Anna
is a recent graduate of T. Wingate Andrews High School where she was
valedictorian of a class of 169 students with a GPA of 5.019. While at
Andrews High School she was an AP scholar, Chief Junior Marshall for 2011
graduation, a member of the Beta Club and National Honor Society, and
Academic Student of the Month. In addition to her academic associations,
she played volleyball for 4 years and served as a member of the High Point
Youth Council earning their Outstanding Member Award in 2011 for 75+ hours
of community service. Anna has maintained several part time jobs throughout
her high school years in an effort to provide her own spending money and to
save for college. She participated in several volunteer opportunities
focused on her love for animals including at Second Chance Ranch where she
"adopted" a blind rescue horse. This involvement with and love for animals
led her to choose N.C. State University as her college choice where she
hopes to major in animal science.

The committee is also pleased to announce the renewal of prior
scholarships to Stephanie Blair (2011) attending UNC-CH, Judy Sisouvong
(2010) attending NC State University, and Karley Saffer (2009) attending
UNC-CH.

Some observations by one of the Fund Directors:

If the Cardinal Amateur is important for no other reason, this scholarship makes it worthwhile.  Involvement in the scholarship fund has been one of the most moving and meaningful endeavors in my life.  In 1983, the organizers of the Cardinal Am began a fund to provide a scholarship to a deserving young person in Guilford County and since that date the tournament has been its primary source of funds.  The most important criteria for this award is need.  It is our desire to make the difference in some young person's life--we look at family finances, work record, extracurricular activities, personal references and volunteer experience when choosing among the many worthy candidates.  We choose the one who, with our help, can make it through college.  During all the years of the fund every recipient has graduated in four years.

Each year, the directors sift through thirty-five to forty applications.  The choice is never easy.  In the past we chose one young lady who was barely existing on food stamps while living with an aunt in return for baby-sitting--she graduated with a degree in nursing because of us--our support, both emotional and financial, made the difference.  Another success story is that of Holly Woodward who graduated in 2003 from NC State, Summa Cum Laude!