Worsleys Recognized with SoCon Distinguished Service Award

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced today the 12 recipients of the league’s 2012 Distinguished Service Award as selected by each member institution based on that person’s contribution to the school. Elon’s honorees are Cecil Worsley III ’86 and his wife, JoAnna ’87, who have been strong supporters of Elon Athletics for many years. The award winners will be honored for their contributions at the Southern Conference Honors Dinner in Asheville, N.C., on May 30.

In September 2009, behind a generous gift from the Worsley family, Elon dedicated the W. Cecil Worsley III Golf Training Center. This state-of-the-art facility located on Elon’s South Campus serves as the headquarters for both the men’s and women’s golf programs and includes an indoor practice area with hitting bays and a computerized swing analysis center as well as a putting area and players’ lounge.

This past fall, Cecil Worsley, a former member of the golf team, recognized the need to increase support by former student-athletes and issued the Worsley Family Match. With a three-year commitment of $150,000, the Worsleys matched any gift made to the Phoenix Club by a former student-athlete during the month of October. All gifts benefited student-athletes scholarships and were matched 2:1. The program was immensely successful, with over 270 former student-athletes making gifts during the match. The program will continue for the next two years.

The Worsley’s are members of the Phoenix Club IMPACT Circle and the Founder’s Circle for Elon University and reside in Wilmington, N.C. The couple’s son, Cecil IV, just completed his junior year at Elon.

The Distinguished Service Award program started in 2002 as a way for the Southern Conference to recognize individuals for its member institutions who have contributed in all aspects of the university.