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By Robert Holt
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A partnership has been established for a unique alliance of Franklin City Public Schools, Paul D. Camp Community College and the Camp Family Foundations. These three organizations have put together a program that will, absolutely no doubt, impact the Franklin-Southampton area in a way not witnessed in decades. It promises to fill a void that will produce high-paying jobs in high-demand fields.

The first of the three components is the Franklin City Public School System. Superintendent Carlton Carter proposed to the school board a year ago the need for more emphasis on career technical education (CTE). There is increasing demand for these types of workers, and pay rates are competitive and far above wages currently being paid in our area. Further, he proposed that Franklin convert Joseph P. King Jr. Middle School to house a new CTE program. Carter’s academic strength is in CTE, and he spent seven years at NASA’s Challenger Center for Space Science Education teaching and conducting research.

Likewise, President Corey McCray of Paul D. Camp Community College is skilled in the CTE area, having directed the program at the Pruden Center between Suffolk and Windsor for several years.  He has an interest in expanding CTE programs as well.  The partnership between Camp College and Franklin Schools goes back many years and has always had a cooperative focus.

The third partner is the Camp Family Foundations, essentially three separate foundations formed by members of the Camp family.  It was well documented how Mr. Paul D. Camp purchased a sawmill in the 1880s, and that was the beginning of what became the Union-Camp Corp., the size of which placed it in the middle of the listing of  Fortune 500 companies. Union Camp was purchased by International Paper in 1999.

 Mike Johnson, Executive Director of the Camp Family Foundations, former Executive Director Judge Westbrook Parker, and the respective Foundation Boards knew that the City of Franklin was trending downward in several critical areas. The population was declining, median household income was far below state averages, the poverty rate was well above the state average as was crime, and the City was one of the most financially stressed in Virginia.

The Foundation Boards wanted to help.  They had read and watched the leadership of the Franklin superintendent and school board, as well as the good things happening at Camp College. The Camp Family Foundations felt now was the time to act.

On May 17, 2024, Executive Director Mike Johnson called a meeting with Franklin Superintendent Carter, Board Chair Bob Holt, Camp College President McCray, and former Camp Foundation President Brian Hedgepeth. Johnson reported that the Foundation Boards wanted to offer a full scholarship to every Franklin High School Class of 2025 graduate to attend Camp College beginning in the fall of 2025.  The scholarship would be for any degree or industry recognized credential or certificate program and include tuition, books, and fees. The attendees were asked to develop administrative details during the summer.

The details of this life-altering program have been finalized and are as follows:

• Any member of the FHS class of 2025 is eligible for the Camp Scholars Program.
• The Scholarship begins in the fall of 2025 and will be for any degree or industry certification program at Camp College.
• Recipients must maintain a minimum 2.0  GPA and agree to random drug testing.
• Recipients must have no out-of-school suspensions.
• Recipients must participate in designated community service projects.
• Students and parents/guardians must sign an agreement.

The Camp Scholars program will be introduced to FHS seniors in early September, and they will be asked to confirm their interest in participating by September 30.

Great things happen when people work together for the common good. This program will, no doubt, be an area game changer.

Robert N. “Bob” Holt, a Franklin native, is a retired professor of business management and real estate at Southwestern Community College in Sylva, North Carolina. He holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral studies degrees from Virginia Tech and was a member of the university’s Corps of Cadets. His email address is hrobert@vt.edu.