Greensboro attorney and former president of the N.C. Bar Association Janet Ward Black recently established a scholarship at A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis in honor of her mother, Frances Black Holland, who taught in the Cabarrus County Schools for almost 30 years.
On May 24, Kelsie Gibson of A.L. Brown became the first annual winner of the Frances Black Holland Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to a student who has ěexemplified a commitment to their education, to developing their artistic ability and to using those gifts to help others overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams.î
Gibson will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she will study journalism and minor in political science.
The $2,000 scholarship was awarded through the Festival of Arts, which was established at Brown in 2004 and is part of the Cooperative Christian Ministryís effort to combat homelessness.
The CCM of Concord provides immediate assistance to those in crisis by providing food, shelter or finances for the present and resources to help them move forward.
During her career, Holland taught at A.L. Brown from 1951 through 1954 and at several other schools. She loved teaching and loved her students more. She motivated her students to use their abilities to their fullest potential. Holland still lives in Kannapolis and is active in the community including continuing as Bible teacher at Trinity United Methodist Church as she has for more than 30 years.
Janet Ward Black is a personal injury attorney in Greensboro and has been recognized by numerous organization and groups for both her professional accomplishments and her community service.
In 2010, she received the N.C. State Barís Distinguished Service Award and has served as president of both the N.C. Bar Association and the N.C. Trial Lawyers Association, only the second lawyer to serve as president of both organizations.
Black also supports International Cooperating Ministries (ICM), a Christian non-profit organization that builds churches in Third World countries for indigenous pastors who have sizable congregations, but no adequate building in which to meet (www.icm.org).
Her law firm, Ward Black Law is a personal injury, workers compensation and social security disability firm in Greensboro dedicated to protecting peopleís rights. It was named in 2010 one of the ěBest Law Firms In Americaî by U.S. News & World Reports.