NCTC Foundation Hosts Annual Donor Scholar Breakfast 2026
The North Central Texas College (NCTC) Foundation hosted its annual Donor Scholar Breakfast on Friday, November 6, on the Gainesville campus. The event honored scholarship recipients and the donors who make their education possible, providing an opportunity for students to personally thank their supporters.
NCTC Foundation Executive Vice President Jim Goldsworthy welcomed guests and expressed gratitude to donors for their continued support of the scholarship program. He introduced the Foundation Board and highlighted the theme of the event, “Investing in Dreams, Inspiring Futures.” Goldsworthy also emphasized the Foundation’s role in serving students across all NCTC locations, including Gainesville, Denton, Corinth, Flower Mound, Champions Circle, Bowie, and Graham.
Debbie Sharp, Executive Director of the NCTC Foundation, announced the launch of seven new scholarship endowments to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Red River Promise program.
Donors included:
Frank Morris, who established the Janet Morris Red River Promise Scholarship. Troy Wolf, who established the Troy Wolf Red River Promise Engineering Scholarship. Larry and Karon Sullivant, who established the Larry and Karon Sullivant Red River Promise Scholarship. Karen Simpson and family, who established the Grant W. Simpson Jr. Red River Promise Scholarship. Jacob Bezner, who established the Jacob Bezner Red River Promise Scholarship. Bill Adams, who established the William Adams Red River Promise Scholarship. William and Jennifer Presson, who established the William and Jennifer Presson Red River Promise Scholarship.
Sharp also shared that the foundation was named a beneficiary of the William and John Truitt Trust and the Marilyn Lee Melton Estate, which will both provide scholarship support, including support for Red River Promise.
Sharp also recognize the following new scholarships:
The Ward Nommensen Scholarship, supporting students majoring in health sciences who are graduates of Era ISD or of Valley View, Lindsay, Muenster, or Callisburg schools.
The Hellman Family Scholarship to support Cooke County students majoring in healthcare, education, or agriculture.
The Fred and Kaye Krebs Scholarship, supporting students with financial need.
The F. M. Hemphill Family Scholarship, which honors F. M. Hemphill, who served as president of the first graduating class of Gainesville College, now North Central Texas College.
In honor of their parents, William A. and Doris Jones, Tim and Terry Jones established a scholarship for students with financial need who are pursuing agriculture-related fields.
The Jennifer Beal Scholarship, established through her ongoing payroll contributions by longtime NCTC employee Jennifer Beal.
Sherry Thompson, with the PinkImpact Foundation, established an endowed scholarship for students who are breast cancer survivors or children of breast cancer survivors.
The family of Don Hawkins established the Don Hawkins Family Scholarship to continue his legacy of service and commitment to education. This scholarship will support Cooke County students with financial need who are majoring in business or pursuing a technical trade.
Amy Cooper established the Donald Patterson Scholarship and the Libby Smith Patterson Scholarship in honor of her parents. These scholarships will support students in the NCTC Honors Program.
The Thomsen Foundation established the Thomsen Foundation Scholarship for students majoring in Data Analytics or related fields. This scholarship can be awarded to credit or non-credit students. In addition, the Thomsen Foundation donated $7,500 to assist with the food pantries on the Gainesville, Bowie and Graham Campuses.
Sharp also highlighted new scholarships that will be expanding opportunities for Denton County students.
Frank and Dorothy Knapp established scholarship support for Denton County residents, with 10 scholarships awarded annually.
Dr. Linda Creagh increased her scholarship fund to support Denton ISD graduates pursuing technical fields at NCTC after their first semester of college.
Frank and Mahin Scarlata have provided funding for 10 scholarships annually for students pursuing technical fields.
Alex and Amanda Payne have established the Alex and Amanda Payne Endowed scholarship to support Denton County students attending NCTC.
NCTC Chancellor Dr. Brent Wallace moderated a panel discussion with three NCTC students, Maria Puga, Sadie Richards Massard, and Kevin Tran, NCTC Alumna Jennifer Schumate, and NCTC Donor Jacob Bezner.
Schumate shared her journey back to higher education shared these words of advice to students at the event, “Keep going. You’ll run into challenges but keep going. The people in this room believe in you and have invested in you. The connections you make here will last a lifetime. So never give up, keep going.”
The event concluded with remarks from NCTC Chancellor Dr. Brent Wallace, who thanked donors for their generosity and congratulated all scholarship recipients.
For more information about the NCTC Foundation, contact Debbie Sharp at (940) 668-4213 or visit www.nctc.edu/foundation.