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CONWAY – Since 1999, the Fleetwood Scholarship has helped local students who aspire to work in the medical field pay for their education.

Dr. Joseph Fleetwood Jr. – better known in the community simply as “Dr. Joe” – and his father Dr. Joseph A. Fleetwood Sr. were longtime local physicians in the Conway area.

Dr. Joe was born and raised in Conway. He followed in his father’s footsteps by obtaining his medical degree from Wake Forest University, graduating in 1947. After that, he joined the Navy, serving as a base physician at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. At one point, he even served as physician to Admiral Richard E. Byrd while deployed to Antarctica. But once his tour of duty was complete, however, he returned back to his hometown to provide care for the people in the area alongside his father.

He was known for making house calls, and he also delivered over 3,000 babies throughout Northampton County and surrounding counties. He married his wife Pat in 1951 and they raised four sons together.

Dr. Joe passed away in 2013 at the age of 87.

“He was much beloved by the people of Conway and beyond the city limits of Conway for his dedication and hard work,” said Carol Hedspeth Lowe, Chair of the Fleetwood Scholarship Committee. “He was called on and came to the assistance of his patients night and day for over 50 years.”

In the later years of his medical practice, people began to think about what would happen after he chose to retire. And that’s how the scholarship got started.

“A group of community leaders got together and laid the foundation for the scholarship,” Hedspeth Lowe said. “It was felt that a scholarship for a student or students entering the medical field would be a good way to honor and remember him.”

The group formed a committee that would fundraise and select the scholarship recipients. Hedspeth Lowe also acknowledged the Conway Ruritan Club as an integral part of the process after they began helping fundraise through an annual golf tournament, also named in honor of Dr. Joe.

The annual scholarship is open for students who are pursuing or plan to pursue a degree in a medical-related curriculum who will hopefully choose to return to the local area to work. Recipients can be high school seniors as well as college or community college students who determine after high school that they will be studying a medical-related curriculum.

Hedspeth Lowe said the amount awarded each year depends on the endowment and the number of applicants. The minimum award is $1,000 per year, but in years with fewer applicants, the amount may be larger.

There have been several students who have received funds from the Fleetwood scholarship since its inception, and they have gone on to work in a variety of jobs in the medical field.

Hedspeth Lowe mentioned just a few examples of recipients who have embarked on successful careers in the healthcare field, such as Ashley Bennett, a local registered nurse; Beth White, who has a doctorate in occupational therapy and works at ECU Health in Roanoke Rapids; Jordan White, who has a dentist practice in Murfreesboro; Kaitlyn Taylor Johnson, a pharmacist; Mindy Drewette, who has a doctorate in physical therapy; and Rebecca Sykes, a mental health clinician.

“Post-secondary education can be expensive and prohibitive for some, so it’s good that we have scholarships like this available to assist them,” Hedspeth Lowe said on the importance of offering the scholarship.

She also noted that supporting talented young people who are going into medical professions is a big benefit for the community. Because once they complete their education, they’re able to give back by taking care of the health and well-being of local citizens.

The committee’s goal is to continue to encourage students to apply so that they can support them as generously as they can. Hedspeth Lowe said sometimes it’s a bit of a challenge to get high school age students to apply.

“I think that is partially because some students don’t realize at that age what they will become interested in and what they will major in, so they don’t feel as if they should apply,” she explained.

She said that’s why they also remind students who are past high school senior status that they are eligible to apply for the scholarship as well.

In addition to selecting participants, the committee also has to ensure they continue to have enough funds for the annual scholarship each year.

“It’s a little more difficult to grow our endowment now since we are getting more and more years away from people who remember Dr. Fleetwood quite as clearly. The younger generation does not have the memory of him and everything he did the same way some of the ‘over 30’ citizens do,” Hedspeth Lowe explained.

She expressed appreciation for the collaboration with the Conway Ruritan Club because they help out a lot in fundraising, making sure they’re able to bring in more money every year.

The Dr. Joe Fleetwood Golf Classic – first organized by the town and Conway Volunteer Fire Department, and now annually put on by the Conway Ruritan Club – started in 2004 and is the largest fundraiser event for the scholarship.

Dr. Joe himself always attended the golf tournament each year until he passed away.

Hedspeth Lowe said the scholarship committee enjoys when the student applications start coming in each year.

“We can look at the list of past recipients and know that some of these former students have come back to our area as doctors, nurses, physical therapists, mental health professionals, and many other professions,” she said. “We look forward every year to reading the applications from new students and seeing the transcripts of current recipients and knowing how proud Dr. Fleetwood would be.”

“It is so rewarding to be a part of this scholarship committee,” she concluded.

Those interested in supporting the scholarship fund can send contributions to Dr. Joseph A. Fleetwood, Jr. Scholarship, c/o Carol Hedspeth Lowe, 195 Photo Shop Lane, Conway, NC 27820.