Henderson Kiwanis Club celebrates fully endowed VGCC Robert Turner Scholarship


From left, VGCC Endowment Director Eddie Ferguson receives contributions from Henderson Kiwanis Club secretary Betty White and club President Mike Brafford during a meeting of the club at the Golden Corral restaurant in Henderson. (VGCC photo)

From left, VGCC Endowment Director Eddie Ferguson receives contributions from Henderson Kiwanis Club secretary Betty White and club President Mike Brafford during a meeting of the club at the Golden Corral restaurant in Henderson. (VGCC photo)

Officials from Vance-Granville Community College were guests at a recent meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Henderson. Club members were celebrating the culmination of the process of fully endowing a scholarship at the college in memory of Robert J. Turner, a longtime member of the club.

After Turner passed away in 2007, the club began making contributions to the VGCC Endowment Fund to honor his years of service. Now that it is completely endowed, the Robert J. Turner Academic Achievement scholarship will serve as a lasting tribute. The club previously endowed the Robert B. Harrison/Henderson Kiwanis Club scholarship, which was also named in memory of a former club member.

Turner served the local organization as president and as chairman of many committees. He was active in numerous Kiwanis projects and had perfect club attendance for 43 years, according to Mike Brafford, the current president of the club. Turner was also a World War II veteran, pilot and crop duster.

“On behalf of the students who will receive support from this scholarship, we thank the members of the Henderson Kiwanis Club for partnering with Vance-Granville, as together we celebrate the life and legacy of Robert Turner, who should inspire us all with his example of dedicated community service,” said Dr. Stelfanie Williams, president of VGCC.

The Kiwanis Club of Henderson is part of Kiwanis International, a global organization of almost 600,000 members dedicated to serving the children of the world. The Kiwanis Club of Henderson performs many service projects in Vance County to help children.