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Bond wins 2014 Holding Award

Dr. Bettie Bond has received the Lewis R. Holding Philanthropic Leadership Award for 2014, according to Stuart Dorsett, chairman of the board of directors of the North Carolina Community Foundation (NCCF).

Bond was honored at NCCF’s statewide board meeting last week in Raleigh for her instrumental leadership as a member of the board of advisors of the Watauga County Community Foundation (WCCF), an affiliate of NCCF.

Frank Holding Jr., chairman and CEO of First Citizens BancShares, attended the meeting to speak about the award that was established to honor his late uncle, Lewis R. Holding, who founded NCCF in 1988 and also served as Chairman and CEO of First Citizens BancShares. The leadership award is presented by the NCCF statewide board to an affiliate foundation president or board member who has demonstrated exceptional leadership resulting in outstanding growth for the affiliate.

Bond is a retired Appalachian State University history professor who joined the WCCF soon after it was created in 1993. She has served on the board almost continually over the last 21 years and also many terms as president, a position she currently holds.  Bond has been instrumental in bringing multiple new endowments to the affiliate and increasing gifts, said John Francis, NCCF’s regional associate for the northwest, who nominated her for the award. She also has worked “tirelessly” to raise the profile of the affiliate in the community, he said. “She is the face of the Watauga Community Foundation as far as the local community is concerned,” he said.

The WCCF last year awarded nearly $20,000 from its local grantmaking fund and administered another $80,000 to the community from all funds and scholarships.

 “Watauga County and the entire region certainly have benefited from Dr. Bond’s leadership,” said Jennifer Tolle Whiteside, NCCF CEO and president. “Her leadership of the Watauga affiliate over the years has encouraged collaboration among funders and nonprofits, which is a model we strive for in all of the communities we serve.”

Brian Crutchfield, who serves on NCCF’s statewide board as well as the Watauga affiliate board, described Bond as an asset to Boone and the WCCF. “Bettie is truly an amazing person,” he said. “She has made the Watauga County Community Foundation what it is today, which is one of the strongest and most diverse rural foundations in the state,” he said.

Bond said she was honored and humbled to receive the award. “I give credit for this honor to all the mentoring that I’ve received from my fellow board members over the years and also the staff at NCCF,” she said. She noted that she has served and led many volunteer boards over the years, but that the WCCF board was one of the best. “They believe in what we’re doing,” she said.