News From the Department
Grants at Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens
For more information, contact: Nancy Hawley at (252) 514-4937
NEW BERN , NC--- Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens (TPHS&G) topped off a successful year of fundraising in 2005 with a $1 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation for the North Carolina History Center.
Kay P. Williams, TPHS&G Director, said, “We are grateful to the Golden LEAF Foundation for partnering with us on the development of the North Carolina History Center, a wonderful project which will serve as a major economic driver in eastern North Carolina’s tourism industry.”
The non-profit Golden LEAF Foundation, based in Rocky Mount, was created in 1999 to receive one-half of the funds coming to North Carolina from the master settlement agreement with cigarette manufacturers. The Foundation awards grants that will positively affect the long-term economic ad vancement of the state and gives priority in its grantmaking to tobacco-dependent and economically distressed counties, including Craven County.
In addition to the Golden LEAF grant, the History Center received support from The Cannon Foundation based in Concord, N.C. In early 2005, the Foundation’s board gave TPHS&G a
second $250,000 grant following one given in 2003. These grants have supported much of the site preparation for the Center.
“We are thrilled with the support of The Cannon Foundation,” Ms. Williams said. Members of the Cannon family have long supported the Palace, beginning with the appointment of Ruth Coltrane Cannon to the first Tryon Palace Commission created in 1945. Mrs. Cannon’s grandson, William C. Cannon, Jr., serves on the current Commission.
Mrs. Cannon was the wife of Charles A. Cannon, the president and chairman of Cannon Mills Company for over 50 years, who established the foundation in 1943 to support his philanthropic efforts throughout North Carolina.
Other grants awarded to TPHS&G in 2005 funded programming needs.
The Harold H. Bate Foundation, based in New Bern, awarded the Palace $25,000 to underwrite the Historical Arts Outreach and the School Tour Scholarship programs, as well as
the annual Free Day. Support by the Bate Foundation continues in 2006 with a $24,000 grant that will underwrite the creation of a new orientation video, the Colonial Fife & Drum Corps and the annual Free Day.
The Bate Foundation, funded by the estate of the late philanthropist, investor and retired lumber executive Harold H. Bate, awards grants to projects and communities in Craven, Pamlico and Jones Counties, and to East Carolina University. The foundation provides funds for projects designed to enhance education, youth and recreation, and quality of life.
Other grants for the Colonial Fife & Drum Corps, an exciting new venture which features student and volunteer musicians, came from the Craven County Community Foundation and the Grassroots Arts Program of the North Carolina Arts Council, a state agency, through the Craven Arts Council.
TPHS&G also received a $2,000 grant from the Greensboro-based Marion Stedman Covington Foundation to support the Summer Archaeology Field School.
Grants at Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens are prepared and administered by a grants
committee which includes Ms. Williams, Deputy Director Philippe Lafargue, Development Officer Cheryl Kite and Grants Coordinator Vina Hutchinson Farmer.
“We are extremely thankful for the confidence these entities have shown Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens by supporting our efforts to preserve and promote North Carolina’s rich historical heritage,” Ms. Williams concluded.
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The Department of Cultural Resources is a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history, and culture. For more information about the Dept., visit www.ncculture.com
Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, located in New Bern, N.C., is an agency of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. For directions and further information about special events, programs or group tours, phone 800-767-1560 or 252-514-4900 or visit www.tryonpalace.org
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