Post by Western Piedmont Foundation Inc.

SCHOLARSHIP SPOTLIGHT The George T. Cornwell Endowed Scholarship was established by the Huffman-Cornwell Foundation of Morganton in loving memory of its founder, the late George Thomas “Tom” Cornwell. Tom Cornwell was born in Cleveland County, NC in 1905, according to his obituary. He graduated from Mars Hill College and earned a degree from the University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy in 1933. He established a retail pharmacy chain, Cornwell Drug Stores, with the opening of his first store in Shelby, NC in 1934. The chain grew to 13 stores, including a location in Morganton, by the time he retired in 1978 as president and treasurer of the company. He relocated to Morganton sometime in the 1930s, according to a News Herald article. Tom was dedicated to volunteer service and held leadership positions in a variety of organizations. He was a trustee of Mars Hill College for 25 years, starting in 1952, and a trustee of the UNC School of Pharmacy, where he established the Cornwell Scholarship for pharmacy students. He also was a trustee of Grace Hospital for many years and gifted the hospital with an endowment fund for nursing scholarships. He was a past president of the Burke Freezer Locker Company and the Burke County Merchants Association, a former vice-president of the Burke County Fair Association and served on the boards of Morganton City Schools, the Morganton Zoning Commission, Drexel Enterprises, Wachovia Bank, the Morganton Chamber of Commerce, the Morganton Parks and Recreation Foundation and the Morganton Kiwanis Club. He also was a member of the Consolidated Pharmacy Fund Committee of the North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association. Mars Hill College recognized Tom in 1973 by dedicating a classroom building, Cornwell Hall, in his honor. In 1999, he became the first Burke County resident to be inducted into the Alexis De Tocqueville Society of the United Way, which honors people who have donated at least $10,000 to their local United Way organization. He was very active in First Baptist Church of Morganton, where he served as deacon, Sunday school teacher, choir member and chair of the music department. Tom passed away in 2000.