Kornegays donate 1 million dollars to MOC
By Don McLoud
Published in News on December 21, 2004 1:58 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- The George R. Kornegay Jr. family has donated $1 million to Mount Olive College.
The donation will also bring a name to the campus' largest building, College Hall. It will now be named after the late George and Annie Dail Kornegay.
"Our family is pleased to be able to contribute to Mount Olive College in this meaningful way," George Kornegay said. "I am especially proud to have my parents' names associated with this building. Both of my parents felt education was essential and instilled in me the value of learning,"
College Hall is home to the Trojans and Lady Trojans basketball teams. It is the site of the Original Free Will Baptist Convention and the State Youth Convention. Tournaments, summer camps, conventions, college fairs, graduations and concerts are all held within the 2,000-seat arena.
Ground was broken on the $3 million complex in 1982 and the doors to the facility officially opened in 1984.
George Kornegay is married to Barbara Kornegay, vice president for enrollment at Mount Olive College. He has three children, Stephanie, Russ and Kevin, and a step-daughter, Katherine Sessoms.
Kornegay's parents were born, reared and lived in Duplin County. Annie Dail was a mother and housewife, and occasionally she taught school in Sampson County.
George Kornegay Sr. was a farmer and spent his life tilling the earth. The couple had three children, the late Edna Kornegay Brice of Holly Ridge, Doris Kornegay Holland of Mount Olive, and George Jr. of Mount Olive.
"Our parents would be proud to be associated with Mount Olive College," Kornegay said. "The institution has such a vital impact on eastern North Carolina."
Kornegay attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He and his children own and operate several businesses in and around Mount Olive, including the Sleep Inn, the Southern Belle, Glen Care of Mount Olive and Glen Care of Warsaw.
Kornegay is also the president of the Mount Olive College Foundation, an independent fund-raising arm for the college.
"The Kornegay family contributes to the improvement of our community in many ways," said Dr. J. William Byrd, president of Mount Olive College.