ELIZABETTHOWN — Anthony Thomas, Gerald Maultsby, and Sisters with Class Red and Pink Hat Chapter will be honored at the United Negro college Fund Tri-County Annual Banquet.
The banquet will take place on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. The Tri-County committee will sponsor the 27th annual banquet honoring outstanding citizens from our communities.
The banquet will be held at East Columbus High School in Lake Waccamaw. This banquet is a fundraiser for UNCF sponsored by Bladen, Columbus and Brunswick Counties to raise funds to provide scholarships to students who might not otherwise have an opportunity to attend college. All money raised from this fundraiser go to UNCF.
The United Negro College Fund is a philantropic organization that funds scholarships for students attending their 39 historical colleges and universities. UNCF was incorporated in 1944 by Frederick D. Patterson, Mary McLeod Bethune and others. In 2005, the UNCF, the UNCF supported approximately 65,000 students. About 60% of these students are first in their families to attend college and 62% have annual family incomes of less than $25,000.00. UNCF is best known for its motto “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
Anthony Thomas
Thomas was nominated for the UNCF Outstanding Educator Award because of his commitment to educating all children.
Thomas volunteers as a mentor for many of the neighborhood students and serves as youth director for his church.
Thomas is currently serving as director of students at Bladen Community College. He is responsible for the coordination and direction of the College’s counseling, recruiting, high school programs, Men of Standard mentoring program, and Student Government Association. He is responsible for planning, directing and managing administrative activities for student success programs and services.
Thomas had been a recruiter/counselor in student services, where he was responsible for recruiting and counseling students, as well as the Men of Standard mentoring program.
Thomas is a graduate of Bladen Community College. He has a bachelor of science degree in business administration with concentrations in finance and management from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a master of arts degree in education with a concentration in instruction from Central Michigan University.
Anthony and his wife Jessica live in Elizabethtown and they have two children.
Gerald Maultsby
Maultsby was nominated for the UNCF Civic Award because of his volunteer work in the community. Maultsby is a carpenter and licensed plumber who uses these skills to help his neighbors who are unable to pay for these services. He devotes much of his time to repairing houses for senior citizens and making sure that they have handicap ramps.
Maultsby volunteers some of his time helping with the upkeep of the Spaulding Monroe Cultural Center. His donation of skilled labor to his community has been a blessing to the entire community.
Maultsby’s life has been one of service. After graduating from Spaulding Monroe High School, he moved to New York to seek employment. He attended New York City Institute of Technology and graduated with a bachelor of science degree.
He is a Vietnam Veteran and a former New York City police officer. After retiring from the NYC Police Department, he returned to North Carolina and immediately began his volunteer work that has positively impacted his community.
Maultsby is married to Michelle and they are the parents of five children. They live in Bladenboro and are members of Bryant Swamp Missionary Baptist Church.
Sisters with Class Pink and Red Hat Chapter
Sisters with Class is a civic organization that was nominated for the UNCF Civic Award for their community work. The group consists of 40 active members from Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, New Hanover and Robeson counties. They have been involved in several civic minded causes such as Relay for Life, Community Outreach at Thanksgiving and Christmas for less fortunate families and children. They also volunteer at the Paul R. Brown Leadership Academy and have participated in the Department of Social Services walk for the Advocacy for Children.
