Thu, March 28, 2024

Local business owners honor father’s legacy by establishing entrepreneurial scholarship fund

Wilkes Goolsby is honoring his father’s legacy by helping local high school students achieve the dream of business ownership.

Goolsby is co-owner of Goolsby’s, a popular family restaurant that specializes in Southern cuisine located at 4460 Washington Road, Suite 9 in Evans. Every year on March 24, the restaurant hosts Richard Goolsby Day, which honors his father, the restaurant’s founder who died in a car accident on Feb. 10, 2021. March 24 was his birthday.

On Friday, Goolsby’s celebrated the second annual Richard Goolsby Day. All sales and donations collected that day go to the Richard Goolsby Entrepreneurial Scholarship, which will be used to help Lincoln County High School students who want to become small business owners. Last year, they collected about $13,000.

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He said they plan to average the amounts collected for both years and use half of that money for scholarships and retain the rest to fund future scholarships. Scholarship applications are currently being accepted.

The Richard Goolsby Entrepreneurial Scholarship will be awarded to future business owners from Lincoln County HS.

“This will be the first year we give the scholarship to students,” Goolsby said.

The amounts awarded will depend on the number of qualified applicants they receive. To qualify for the scholarship, students must have a high-grade point average, be involved in extracurricular activities, and submit an essay explaining their plans for pursuing entrepreneurship after college.

“They get extra points for working a part-time job after school,” he said.

Goolsby said he and his family want to help students and families cover the cost of their education and spur future business development.

They will probably accept scholarship applications until early to mid-May. He said the fundraiser is the kind of event his father would’ve loved.

The goal of the Goolsby family is to promote future small business owners.

“He believed in promoting small businesses,” Goolsby said. “Whenever a small business opened, he would be the first one there to support it.”

Scholarship applications are available in the main office at Lincoln County High School.

The family recently announced their plans to open a second location on Wrightsboro Road across the street from Forest Hills Golf Club.

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