William F. Carl Scholarship Fund

William F. Carl
The death of Golden Corral co-founder, William “Bill” F. Carl, in 2005 left a void in the lives of his loved ones and friends, and also in the foodservice industry as a whole.  However, his legacy will live on and his foresight and generosity will always be remembered.  To honor his many contributions to our industry, his wife, Caroline, his many friends, and the Golden Corral Corporation have established the William F. Carl Scholarship Fund at the NC Hospitality Education Foundation (NC HEF).

Bill grew up in Sylvania, Ohio, and earned a business degree from Bowling Green State University in 1963. After graduation, he moved to Florida to work for Burroughs Corp. where he meet James Maynard, a North Carolina native. James and Bill opened a family steakhouse in Fayetteville in 1972 called the Golden Steer, which was later renamed Golden Corral. Bill quickly learned everything about restaurant operations. In particular Bill's leadership inspired many managers of individual Golden Corral restaurants to become partners. This scholarship fund exemplifies everything that Bill Carl stood for - recognizing and honoring your employees because they are the foundation of any business' success. What better way to support and honor hospitality employees, than through contributing to the success of their children.

Purpose
The NC HEF William F. Carl Scholarship honors and salutes the restaurant industry employees; for their hard work and dedication have become the foundation of growth and success for the industry.  To appreciate these employees, scholarships in the amount of $500 - $5,000 will be given annually to their children based on eligibility.

Criteria for Children/Students
q Applicant must be a high school senior, high school graduate or current undergraduate college student aged 24 and under who is a legal United States resident.
q Applicant must be a child of a restaurant employee. For specific criteria see the “Criteria for Parent” section.
q Applicant must enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study no later than September 2007 at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school in the United States. Preference will be given to those students majoring in a hospitality related field.
 q The scholarship may be eligible for renewal if the student maintains a 3.0 GPA and completes the annual scholarship renewal form.

Criteria for Parent 
 q Parent must be a part- or full-time hourly employee (including office staff) working at an active NCRA member restaurant. Certain salaried employees may qualify depending on financial need. Parent must be employed at establishment for a minimum of two years.
 q Parent must return a letter of recommendation from their employer that also verifies employment dates and status.

How Recipients are Chosen
The NC HEF board of trustees will judge the applicants based on their academic success, community involvement, and recommendations as submitted.  The NC HEF will notify scholarship applicants of their award status via U.S. mail by the end of February 2007. Upon selection, the NC HEF will host the student, and the restaurant will be asked to host their employee, at the NC HEF’s annual Excellence in Education Gala for scholarship presentation. The Gala will be held on April 29, 2007.

Application deadline is Jan. 19, 2007.

To download an application, please click here.