NCWC News: North Carolina Wesleyan College Receives Major Gift For Alumni Campaign

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October 29, 2002

North Carolina Wesleyan College Receives

Major Gift For Alumni Campaign

Rocky Mount, N.C.—North Carolina Wesleyan College has received a gift of $50,000 over two years from Roger G. Taylor and his wife, Gaile Davenport Taylor, for the College’s first ever Alumni Day for Wesleyan.

Roger Taylor, a 1970 Wesleyan graduate, chairs the executive committee of the Alumni Day for Wesleyan, an alumni fundraising drive that marks the start of Wesleyan’s year-long Annual Fund Drive. During that effort, Wesleyan alumni will make personal calls to each other to help raise funds for annual operating costs that tuition and fees do not cover and to bring new programs to the campus.

"My education and experience at Wesleyan greatly enriched my life," said Taylor, who heads AXA Advisors—Roger G. Taylor and Associates, a financial services firm in Rocky Mount. Taylor is a Wesleyan trustee, past president of the Alumni Association, and the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Service Award. He was an honor student, senior class president, and an outstanding basketball player who gained designations as MVP, All-Conference, and Wesleyan’s first All-America athlete.

Taylor also established an academic scholarship at Wesleyan several years ago in honor of his wife.

"As chair of the Alumni Day for Wesleyan, Roger Taylor has set an outstanding example for other alumni," said Wesleyan’s president, Dr. Ian Newbould. "Roger represents a growing number of graduates who want to give back to the college that has helped them achieve success in their careers and personal lives."

Angela Bennett, director of alumni relations and the annual fund, said, "The Alumni Day for Wesleyan will launch the Annual Fund Drive, which is designed eventually to raise support that equals or exceeds community support. Volunteers will make personal calls to inspire others to give and, of course, will make their own gifts first, as Roger has done."

Local support for this year’s Day for Wesleyan exceeded $400,000, the largest total in the 21-year history of the event.

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