BCCC names lecture hall in memory of Bobby Hodges

Published 2:20 pm Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Beaufort County Community College (BCCC) dedicated a lecture hall in memory of Robert “Bobby” Hodges on September 3. The naming acknowledges a new generous donation of a scholarship endowment through the BCCC Foundation from the family. The Robert “Bobby” Hodges Memorial Lecture Hall is located in the Delmar Keech Business & Technology Building.

Hodges grew up and worked on the family farm in Beaufort County, where he learned to appreciate hard work and love of the land. He graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, after which he started working as the funeral director of Paul Funeral Home in 1986. In 2011, the funeral home installed the only crematory in Beaufort County to better serve families.

Hodges was a charter member of the Old Ford Volunteer Fire Department, a member of the Old Ford Ruritan Club, a deacon and treasurer of Old Ford Church of Christ, and held membership in the Woodmen of the World, Old Ford Camp 671, Washington Noon Rotary, the North Carolina Funeral Directors’ Association, and the National Funeral Directors’ Association. He was the president of the Pilot-Paul Mutual Burial Association.

He was a Christmas lover, dressing up as Santa Claus to visit children in the hospital for 20 years, and helped start Stocking for Soldiers, which collected 7,000 stockings to distribute to soldiers over the course of eight years. In 1989, he married Elizabeth “Betsy” Hodges, who became a co-owner of the funeral home.

“Bobby was a man of integrity and honor,” said Betsy Hodges. “He couldn’t say no to anyone, and he loved animals big and small.”

The endowment will support a scholarship for curriculum or continuing education students who have a minimum grad point average (GPA) of 2.0 and a demonstrated financial need. Students must reside in Beaufort, Hyde, Tyrrell, or Washington Counties and be enrolled in the associate degree nursing, practical nursing, agribusiness technology, business administration, nurse aide, or registered medical assistant programs. Students can access the scholarship filling out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and applying with the BCCC Foundation.

Private scholarships can be essential for students as the Beaufort Promise Scholarship does not cover textbooks.

For questions regarding contributions and naming rights through the BCCC Foundation, contact Serena Sullivan, VP of Institutional Advancement, at serena.sullivan@beaufortccc.edu or 252-940-6326.