2003 Watauga Medals
Two alumni
of the College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences were among the three North Carolinians who received
Watauga Medals from N.C. State University
on March 10 for their distinguished service to the university.
They are Dr.
Walter W. “Dub” Dickson of Gastonia, a former legislator and
veterinarian, and Arthur Tab Williams Jr. of Winston-Salem, founder
of the A.T. Williams Oil Company, which later grew into Wilco Travel
and Fuel Plazas. The third honoree is architect John L. Atkins III of
Durham, president and CEO of O’Brien/Atkins Associates.
The Watauga
Medals, the highest nonacademic honor bestowed by the university, were
presented by Chancellor Marye Anne Fox at the 2003 N.C. State University
Founders’ Day Dinner. The event marks the 116th anniversary of
the university’s founding.
After earning
his bachelor’s degree in animal industry from N.C. State and a
doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Georgia, Dickson
practiced veterinary medicine in Gastonia from 1954 to 1988. He then
served in the N.C. House of Representatives from 1989 through 1998.
Dickson’s
service as a member of N.C. State’s Board of Trustees includes
leadership in the establishment of the university’s College
of Veterinary Medicine.
Among the numerous
professional and community service awards garnered by Dickson are membership
to the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 1992, the Distinguished Veterinarian
of the Year Award in 1989 and an appointment to the North Carolina 2000
Steering Committee. He has also served on the State Board of the Community
College System and as president of the N.C. Veterinary Medical Association.
Williams grew
up on a family farm in Pitt County and then graduated from N.C. State
in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy. He worked for four
years as an agricultural extension agent in Forsyth County and became
a sales supervisor for the Winston-Salem Tobacco Market for two years.
After working
for Taylor Oil Company for six years, Williams in 1963 created his own
company, A.T. Williams Oil Company, and purchased six full-service gas
stations. That company later grew to become Wilco Travel and Fuel Plazas,
comprising 120 gas stations and convenience stores and 21 Wilco travel
centers in four states. By the late 1990s, Wilco was the largest independent
gasoline retailer in North Carolina. In 2001, Williams sold half of
his company to a long-time supplier, Amerada Hess Corporation.
Williams has
been an active leader in major fund-raising campaigns at N.C. State.
In 1996, he established a Charitable Annuity Lead Trust that makes annual
gifts to support three scholarships — the A. Tab Williams Jr. Endowed
Scholarship Fund, the John T. Caldwell-A. Tab Williams Jr. Scholarship
Endowment Fund, and the A. Tab Williams Jr. Athletic Scholarship Endowment
Fund. He is also a member of the board of directors of the N.C.
State Alumni Association.
