The first Gen. H. Hugh Shelton Golf Invitational raised $35,000 to benefit scholarships and youth development programs offered through the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Endowment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Gen. H. Hugh Shelton Initiative of University Extension and Engagement at N.C. State University. Dr. Franklin Clark chaired the event, which also served as occasion for the awarding of the first Gen. H. Hugh Shelton Scholarships.

Charles V. Turner, 18, of Fayetteville and Abby Hucks, 17, of Stanhope each received merit-based awards of $1,000 to support their studies at N.C. State, where they entered as freshmen this fall.

Speaking at the tournament, held July 12 at the Anderson Creek Golf Club in Harnett County, Shelton said the scholarship program is “an opportunity to inspire, educate and basically bring in some deserving students and get them further steeped in the values I hold near and dear — integrity, honesty, the things we look for in our leaders today.”

Shelton, who served as the nation’s top military leader in uniform as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997 to 2001, is a 1963 graduate of N.C. State, where he received his commission as an Army lieutenant through ROTC. He commanded the 82nd Airborne Division and the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg.

Among those playing in the golf tournament were N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, former 18th Airborne Corps Fort Bragg Commander Gen. Buck Kernan (ret.) and Fort Bragg Commander Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill. At the post-tournament ceremony, the U.S. Army Parachute Team, The Golden Knights, jumped to the site with the first scholarship awards, which they handed to Shelton for presentation to Turner and Hucks.

Turner is the son of a Fort Bragg soldier, Master Sgt. Charles J. Turner. Hucks is the daughter of Nash County Cooperative Extension Director Mark Hucks.

— Terri Leith