Womack's Widow Establishes Annual Scholarship

July 29, 2005

Karen Womack, widow of David Hunter Womack, has established an annual scholarship in her husband’s memory to benefit students studying landscape gardening. David, who passed away suddenly on April 18, 2004, was the longtime tax collector for Johnston County.

The David H. Womack Annual Scholarship will be awarded to deserving landscape gardening (LSG) students enrolled at Johnston Community College beginning in the fall 2005 semester. The first Womack scholarship will be $350, but will be increased to $500 beginning in 2006. The scholarship is funded by the Womack family as well as donations given by friends of the Arboretum at JCC.

The scholarship will be awarded annually with prospective awardees applying for the scholarship each year. The Womack scholarship is not considered a "need based" scholarship, is not exclusive to Johnston County residents, nor does the applicant have to be a full-time student.

The Womack family has supported the Arboretum and the Landscape Gardening program in many ways. Karen Womack works as the arboretum technician and she and David’s children, Jonathan, Whitney and Joshua have all assisted and participated in many Arboretum events. David’s father, H.C. "Buddy" Womack is a member of the Arboretum Advisory Board. "Being involved with the Arboretum and the LSG students allow me to see first hand how this scholarship will make a difference in the lives of the students who receive it," says Karen. David’s family chose to give the scholarship to an LSG student because many of them, as with a lot of community college students, are adult students working full-time jobs, raising families, and attending school.

David himself was an alumnus of Johnston Community College graduating with an Associate of Applied Science in Business Administration. After JCC, David obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Mount Olive College. "David always love the outdoors even as a little boy and always had a particular interest in trees," states David’s mother, Julia Womack. "He would have been honored to be able to help these students fulfill their dreams."

For more information about the Landscape Gardening program or the Womack Scholarship, call Lin Frye, director of the JCC Arboretum, at 919-209-2052.