C O M M U N I T Y
MATTERS T H E W I N S T O N - S A L E M F O U N D AT I O N
Community Newsletter | September 2007
Dean Prim Scholarship Offers Study in China BILLY PRIM CAN CERTAINLY BE characterized as a visionary in the business world. As co-founder of Blue Rhino in 1994, he revolutionized the gas grill propane tank industry by creating tank exchanges at over 40,000 retail locations across the country. After selling Blue Rhino in 2004, Prim founded Primo Water, the first national brand of water for water coolers, utilizing similar distribution networks and retail partnerships. He is now also focusing his time and energy toward revitalizing downtown Winston-Salem as the lead developer for a new stadium for the minor league baseball team he co-owns, the Winston-Salem Warthogs. But Billy Prim has another vision which may not be as wellpublicized — that of a financial supporter of local youth wanting to attend college. Billy was raised and educated in Yadkin County, and his father, Dean Prim, was a member of the Yadkin County Board of Education. Dean Prim was a man dedicated to promoting education in his community. Following the death of his father in 1975, Billy and his family established a college scholarship in his father’s name for students at Starmount High School in Yadkin County. He transferred administration of the scholarship fund to The WinstonSalem Foundation in 1989 and later expanded the fund to encompass three four-year partial scholarships to graduating high school seniors in Davie, Forsyth, and Yadkin counties. The scholarship fund is supported by an annual golf tournament, the Dean Prim Classic. Billy recently began evaluating the success of the scholarship program over the 30+ years that it had been in existence. He realized that the program had accomplished many things for students not only in Yadkin County, but now also in
Forsyth and Davie Counties. As he began to research how he could make an even greater impact, Billy looked at himself and tried to reflect on what had helped him in his own success. One of the things that he felt strongly about was the importance of his exposure to different people and cultures. He wanted to give students the opportunity to be exposed to a larger world view that he believes is so critical in our global economy. Ultimately, Billy decided to add a travel opportunity to the program. Prim remarks, “I believe that China is, and will continue to be a major force in the world economy.” Billy travels to China regularly on business, and wants these students to see the country through their own eyes. He notes, “I also wanted to open this up to high school students in their junior or senior year — the earlier you can impact someone’s life, the more you can influence it.” Beginning in 2007–2008, the Dean Prim Scholarship will include a paid summer travel and study program in China in addition to the four-year college scholarship. The first recipients will participate in a travel and study program of Mandarin Chinese language and Chinese cultural history at Nanjing University in Nanjing, China in the summer of 2008. In the future, the program could move on to other emerging countries such as South Africa or India. Billy Prim, the entrepreneur, is indeed a visionary. His vision may prove very valuable in developing future leaders for our community. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO THE FOUNDATION’S WEB SITE AT
WWW.WSFOUNDATION.ORG. CLICK ON “STUDENTS”, THEN “LIST OF SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS.” APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR THE DEAN PRIM SCHOLARSHIP IS OCTOBER 31, 2007.