The Fayetteville Technical Community College Board of Trustees elected new officers on Monday, Aug. 21, and welcomed a new trustee. 

William L. Hedgepeth II was elected board chair. The retired banker, who joined the board in 2017, had previously been its vice chair. Ronald C. Crosby Jr., an attorney who has been on the board since 2009, was elected vice chair and Caroline C. Gregory, a new appointee to the board, was elected secretary. 

Gregory, an attorney, was appointed to the board by Gov. Roy Cooper to replace businessman William S. “Billy” Wellons, whose term was expiring. Gregory was officially sworn in as a board member earlier this summer but a ceremonial swearing-in was held at the beginning of Monday’s board meeting with Cumberland County District Court Judge Caitlin Evans administering the oath. 

Gregory is a native of Fayetteville and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and Campbell Law School. 

Wellons, who attended part of Monday’s meeting, said he has been stepping away from serving on boards in recent years. He said the FTCC board, where he served for 20 years, including two years as board chair, was his last. 

“It has been a real pleasure to be on this board,” Wellons said in a press release. As a businessman, he said, he liked bringing a business perspective to board issues and he gained deep appreciation for FTCC’s mission of educating students of all ages and at all stages in life. 

“This is a great place,” he added in a press release. “It’s all about the students.” 

Wellons expressed a sense of pride in his service on the board and leaves feeling FTCC is in good hands and on a good path. “We’ve done a lot at this school to progress… and we have planned well for the future,” he said in a press release. 

FTCC President Dr. Mark Sorrells presented Wellons with a thank you gift for his service and also presented gifts to outgoing board chair David Williford and to two previous board chairs, Crosby and Charles E. Koonce. Like Crosby, Williford and Koonce remain on the board.