E.S. (Jim)
Melvin and Shirley Anne Pierce Spears will receive
the university’s top awards for service on Thursday,
April 28.
Melvin will receive the Charles Duncan McIver Award
and Spears will receive the Adelaide F. Holderness
/ H. Michael Weaver Award. Both live in Greensboro.
The awards will be presented during the dinner meeting
of the university’s support groups – the
Founders, McIver, Chancellor’s and Associates
societies – to be held in Cone Ballroom of Elliott
University Center. The awards are authorized for presentation
by UNCG’s Board of Trustees.
“This year’s recipients have helped change
Greensboro and the Triad region for the better and
they have been inspirations to all who know them and
have worked with them,” said UNCG Chancellor
Patricia A. Sullivan. “The McIver Award and
the Holderness/Weaver Award are the highest honors
presented by the university, and this year we celebrate
the accomplishments of two outstanding leaders.”
Spears has been actively serving Greensboro’s
common good since the early 1970s, when she became
involved with family and children’s services
agencies. She has worked for more than three decades
in support of Eastern Music Festival, the Tarheel
Triad Girl Scout Council, Family and Children’s
Services of Greater Greensboro, and the North Carolina
Arts Council.
Other organizations she has served include the Greensboro
Symphony, United Arts Council of Greensboro, the YMCA
and Greensboro Urban Ministry. Spears’ nomination
noted, “Wherever there’s a good cause
for Greensboro, Shirley Spears has been involved as
a supporter, promoter and fundraiser.” Her support
of higher education has been broad, as well, with
involvement at Bennett College, UNCG and Guilford
Technical Community College.
Melvin has been president of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation
of Greater Greensboro since 1997. After a banking
career of almost 40 years and public service that
included a decade as mayor of Greensboro, he is recognized
as the city’s leading booster and one of its
most influential citizens. His nomination said, “Whether
spearheading support for a new baseball stadium or
infusing the school system with leadership training
and cutting-edge educational concepts, his vision,
leadership and dedication to public service are reshaping
Greensboro and providing a model in the state for
community change.”
For UNCG,
Melvin served as a member and chair of the Board of
Trustees, a board of directors member and charter
member of the Spartan Club, and a member of the Excellence
Foundation board. He is a member of the Greensboro
Development Corporation and is chairman/president
of Housing Opportunities Inc.
The McIver Medal recognizes individuals who have rendered
distinguished public service to the state or nation.
The bronze medal bears the likeness of Charles Duncan
McIver, the founding president of the institution
that is now UNCG. Only one medal can be awarded in
any year.
The Holderness/Weaver Award, a crystal bowl, recognizes
North Carolinians who have rendered distinguished
public service to the community or state. It was named
in honor of Adelaide F. Holderness and H. Michael
Weaver, both of Greensboro, who have been longtime
supporters of UNCG.
