Aggie Pride! In just six days, on Saturday, April 29, the Sampson County Chapter of the North Carolina A&T Alumni Association will host its sixth annual Gospel Scholarship Program. This year’s gospel scholarship event will be held at Lisbon Street Missionary Baptist Church, Clinton, with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m.. And we would like to invite all local A&T alumni, friends and supporters and the community at large to join us for an evening of joyful sounds, uplifting music and spiritual inspiration.

Local church choirs, gospel groups and individuals who would like to debut and showcase their musical talent are encouraged to join us for this worthy cause. We thank you for sharing our commitment of investing in our youth With that said, we do expect a large turnout for our gospel scholarship program on Saturday, April 29. This event is free, and the public is invited. Donations will be accepted in the form of a free will offering with the expectation that people will give cheerfully and generously to this good cause.

Your 2017 support will help other deserving local high school students in achieving their academic and professional aspirations. What better legacy to leave than your being involved in providing opportunities to help change a student’s life in a positive manner. The Sampson County NC A&T alumni chapter takes great pride in being able to help students further their education at NC A&T, a place where they can have an impactful college experience. Then, as alumni of the prestigious NC A&T, they will continue to move A&T forward, “spreading thy trophies year by year from Dare to Cherokee.” Aggie Pride!

It’s been six years since our first gospel scholarship program, which was hosted by Poplar Grove Church in Faison. Not only was the inaugural program held at Poplar Grove, the second and third scholarship events were held there as well. From Poplar Grove Church, the annual program went to Bearskin Baptist Church, Clinton, and last year, Union Grove Church of Christ sponsored our fifth annual event. And now, in just a few more days, our sixth annual A&T gospel scholarship program at Lisbon Street Church will provide our community a chance to come out and listen to some wonderful gospel music. In the words of Yolanda Adams, a well-known contemporary gospel artist, “people love gospel music. It’s calming. It’s soothing. It gets right to the point of whatever you’re dealing with.”

And for the past six years, this scholarship program has become a cause close to our hearts at the Sampson County Chapter of the NC A&T Alumni Association, and we do appreciate all of you who help make out annual scholarship a success.

For more information about the chapter’s sixth annual gospel scholarship program or becoming a financial supporter of our scholarship fund, contact our chapter president, John E. Williams, at (910)592-5930. Our emphasis remains that of providing scholarship assistance to well-deserving local students who wish to attend NC A&T.

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By Larry Sutton

Contributing columnist

Larry Sutton is a retired teacher from Clinton High School.