Mr. Delano R. Wilson, a native of Pitt County, lived all of his life in the Winterville and Ayden communities. He received undergraduate and master’s degrees in education from East Carolina University. He continued his education at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke after he began his 34-year teaching career. He taught in Craven County Schools, Pitt County Schools and for ECU.
Mr. Wilson was named Teacher of the Year in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989. He also received an Outstanding Educator Award for 33 years of service. He was a past president of the Pitt County Local Unit and District 15 of North Carolina Retired School Personnel and served on the N.C. Textbook Commission.
Mr. Wilson was a longtime member of the Ayden Rotary Club and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was a member of the Ayden Masonic Lodge No. 498 A.F. and A.M., serving as secretary for 25 years. He served as president of the Ayden Rural Fire Association and as a member of the board of directors of the Ayden Boys & Girls Club. He was a certified master gardener and served on the Pitt County Agriculture Service Board of Directors. He had just completed a term on the Pitt County Board of Education in 2008.
This $500 scholarship is designated to a Ayden-Grifton High School Senior that exemplifies the very values that Mr. Wilson embodied throughout his life.
The Delano Wilson Memorial Scholarship is open to high school seniors who have demonstrated exemplary commitment and action to involve themselves and other peers in service to their community, civic engagement activities and academic excellence.
You must have a GPA of at least 3.0 to be eligible for this award. A written essay how you represent the Rotary Motto “Service Above Self” is required.