For Immediate Release — July 25, 2018
‍Contact: NC Governor’s School Foundation
Lee Conner | 919-260-6165 | President
John Russell | 828-275-1454 | Vice President

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(RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, July 25, 2018) --- The North Carolina Governor’s School Foundation honored Representative Nelson Dollar (Republican - Wake County) today as a recipient of the Governor’s School Legislative Champion Award. The award was presented during the 2018 Closing Convocation of Governor’s School East at Meredith College.

Representative Dollar was one of the strongest voices for preserving funding for the Governor’s School during the 2017 Session of the NC General Assembly.  He listened to the voices of the alumni, families, and friends of the Governor’s School as they explained the tremendously positive impact of Governor’s School on the lives of generations of North Carolinians, and he responded by taking the lead in helping assure that the General Assembly’s final version of the state budget fully preserved Governor’s School’s existing state funding ($800,000) for the fiscal years 2017-18 and 2018-19.

“Representative Dollar’s leadership was a critical component in the General Assembly’s decision to reaffirm North Carolina’s commitment to funding Governor’s School, an investment that has returned incredible dividends to our State and some of its most gifted students,” said Lee Conner, President of the NC Governor’s School Foundation.

The NC Governor’s School Foundation established the Legislative Champion Award as a way to acknowledge and appreciate the leaders in our state who help make Governor’s School possible, thereby providing a life-changing educational experience to many gifted students in our State.

“The NC Governor’s School Foundation is proud to be part of preserving and protecting a North Carolina institution that has had such an incredibly positive impact on the lives of nearly 40,000 students and to be able to recognize a Legislative Champion like Representative Nelson Dollar, who help to make Governor’s School a continuing positive legacy in our State,” said Vice President of the NC Governor’s School Foundation John Russell.

To help commemorate Representative Dollar’s leadership and celebrate the closing of the 56th Session of Governor’s School, the NC Governor’s School Foundation is encouraging the Governor’s School community to show their appreciation to Representative Dollar and other elected leaders who value the enriching experience of Governor’s School through letters to the editor of local newspapers, handwritten thank you notes, and social media. Supporters who want to make a monetary contribution to support the Governor’s School can visit the Foundation’s website (www.ncgsfoundation.org/donate). Contributions will help provide scholarships for low-income students who can’t afford the $500 tuition students are charged to attend Governor’s School, as well as additional funding to enhance core programming through things such as thought-provoking speakers and educational field trips.

The Governor's School of North Carolina is a five and one-half week summer residential program for intellectually gifted high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses on each of two campuses. The curriculum focuses on the exploration of the most recent ideas and concepts in each discipline, and does not involve credit, tests, or grades.

The Governor's School is the oldest statewide summer residential program for academically or intellectually gifted high school students in the nation. The 2018 Session was the 56th Session of Governor’s School. The program, which is open to rising seniors only, with exceptions made for rising juniors in selected performing/visual arts areas, is located on two campuses of up to 335 students each: Governor's School West at Salem College in Winston-Salem (begun in 1963), and Governor's School East at Meredith College in Raleigh (begun in 1978).

The North Carolina Governor’s School Foundation was incorporated in 1990 as a non-profit whose purpose is to support and preserve North Carolina's premier summer enrichment program. Learn more about the Foundation at www.ncgsfoundation.org, on Facebook at North Carolina Governor’s School Foundation, and on Twitter @ncgsfoundation.

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