Watauga High School student Charles Truman Stumb was named the winner of the 2026 Don and Audrey Bentley Scholarship, which this year awarded $23,750 and is renewable for up to four years.

The endowed scholarship is a fund of the Watauga County Community Foundation, an NCCF affiliate, and is one of the largest awards available to Watauga High School and Watauga Innovation Academy students. This is the seventh year for the Bentley Scholarship, and with this year’s award plus renewals of prior years, this fund will have awarded $447,000.

Audrey Bentley established the scholarship in 2013 to honor her late husband, Dr. Donald W. Bentley, and his lifelong profession in the field of education. The fund was activated in 2020 following Ms. Bentley’s death. Selection criteria for the Don and Audrey Bentley Scholarship include academic excellence, leadership, community service, hardship and/or effort. Financial need may be considered as a criterion.

The Don and Audrey Bentley Scholarship is administered by the North Carolina Community Foundation. To learn more about the Bentley scholarship and others, visit nccommunityfoundation.org/Scholarships.

Stumb is the son of Adam Stumb and Adrienne Stumb. In addition to his academic achievements, Stumb has served on his school’s Student Council all four years, and as student body vice-president in his senior year. As student body vice president, he organized the 2025 Homecoming week events. As a member of the Student Council’s executive committee, he meets regularly with high school administration to address student concerns.

Along with many other caring students at Watauga High School, he helped organize food, supplies and services for the Hurricane Helene distribution center there. He has been on the school yearbook staff since 2023 and is currently serving as the editor-in-chief for the 2025-2026 school year. Stumb served as the stage manager for the spring musical at the high school from 2024 through 2026 and has been a Pioneer Ambassador, assisting with the freshmen class transition to high school, since his sophomore year. He has also participated in Link Crew, Key Club, History Club, and many other activities.

He will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall.

About the Watauga County Community Foundation
The Don and Audrey Bentley Scholarship is one of 45 funds of the Watauga County Community Foundation, an affiliate of NCCF that has served the community for more than three decades. It is led by a local volunteer advisory board that helps build community assets through the creation of permanent endowments, makes grants and leverages leadership – all for the benefit of Watauga County. Endowment holdings amount to more than $9 million, and last year the Watauga County Community Foundation made more than 81 grants and scholarships totaling more than $1 million. To learn more, visit nccommunityfoundation.org/Watauga.

About the North Carolina Community Foundation
The North Carolina Community Foundation transforms the collective generosity of our donors into a permanent source of community support, with a focus on the state’s rural areas. NCCF partners with donors and a network of affiliates to sustain over 1,300 endowments totaling over $600 million in assets and partners with 53 affiliate foundations to provide grants and scholarships in 67 counties across the state. More than $360 million has been awarded as grants to charitable organizations and scholarships to students, creating stronger communities for generations to come.