Mount Olive College's 58th winter commencement to be held Dec. 10
By From staff reports
Published in News on November 27, 2011 1:50 AM
Mount Olive College will graduate approximately 250 students at its 58th winter commencement on Dec. 10. Graduation exercises will be held at 2 p.m. in the George and Annie Dail Kornegay Arena.
The commencement speaker will be state Sen. Louis Pate. Pate also has served as a member of the Mount Olive Board of Commissioners, mayor of Mount Olive, and North Carolina House of Representatives 11th District. He also served in the United States Air Force from 1962 to 1982, and from 1982 to 1990 was president of Garner Brothers Inc. Pate earned his bachelor's degree and MBA degree both from Golden Gate University in 1978 and 1980, respectively. Pate and his wife, Joyce, have three children, Lisa Rosen, Chip Pate and Frances Hill.
Preceding graduation, Mount Olive College will hold its baccalaureate service in Southern Bank Auditorium in Raper Hall at 10:30 a.m. Howard F. Scott will be the keynote speaker.
Scott retired from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service this year after 35 years. Throughout his career, he earned numerous awards, including the Order of the North Carolina Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Leadership Award, Dalton Proctor Award for Outstanding Leadership in 4-H, RJ Reynolds Award for Outstanding Extension County Program, City of Goldsboro Individual Humanitarian Award, and Outstanding Alumni Award from Mount Olive College Alumni Association. Most recently, he was inducted into the NC 4-H Hall of Fame. Scott is a 1974 graduate of Mount Olive College where he earned his associate's degree. He earned his bachelor's of science degree in agriculture education and his MS degree in adult education both from N.C. State University.