January 28, 2016
Howells Announced as O’Neal Honorary Auction Chairs
45th Annual Auction Slated for February 20th
Southern Pines – The O’Neal School is pleased to announce Lee and Terri Howell as honorary chairs for its 45th Annual Auction, scheduled for Saturday, February 20th at the Pinehurst Country Club.
Lee serves on The O’Neal School Board of Trustees as secretary, and he is chair of the development committee. Lee and Terri are also Landmark Society Members.
“Terri and I first became aware of The O’Neal School by attending the Auction 15 years ago with friends whose children were students at O’Neal,” explains Lee. “The Auctions gave us an insight into what O’Neal offers, as well as the commitment of the parents and benefactors to ensuring that O’Neal students have the finest education available. When our daughters became of age, we knew that O’Neal was where we wanted them to go.”
In addition to his O’Neal commitments, Lee is vice-chairman of First Capital Bank, and is a board member of both the Scotland Memorial Foundation and the Scotland County Concerned Citizens of the Homeless. He is also a member of Rotary. Lee just finished up his terms as chair for both the Laurinburg/Scotland Chamber of Commerce and the Richmond County Community College Foundation. He has also served as a deacon at First Baptist Church in Laurinburg.
Owner of Scotland Motors, Inc. of Laurinburg, Lee’s father started the dealership in 1967 with 12 cars, and Lee began working at the dealership at a young age. In 1996, following his father’s passing, Lee became president of the dealership. Today, Scotland Motors has over 400 vehicles in inventory, and has received many regional and national awards, including awards for Quality Dealer of the Year in 2009 by the CIADA, and for being one of the top 50 independent auto dealerships in the nation for retail sales in 2012. He was also a finalist for National Dealer of the year in 2010. Lee’s daughters continue the legacy of the family business today by working at the business when their schedules allow it, and by doing the TV commercials for the dealership over the years.
Terri dedicates her time to raising their two daughters, Sydney-Lee (8th grade) and Kristin (6th grade), and is involved in their many extracurricular activities. She also volunteers her time at church.
Though they live in Laurinburg, the girls have been enrolled at O’Neal since pre-kindergarten. The family enjoys spending time together at the beach, at sporting events and the family farm.
The Annual Auction is O’Neal’s largest fundraising event that supports the annual operating budget of the School. 350 Auction tickets will be available this year, and the event will feature live and silent auctions, raffles, cocktails and a seated dinner. Greg Quiroga, co-owner of San-Francisco-based Stellar Fundraising Auctions, will again be the event’s auctioneer. The community is invited to attend the Auction. Tickets can now be purchased online. Please go to www.ONealSchool.org for more information.
Serving students from Pre-K3 to Grade 12, The O’Neal School is a college preparatory independent school located in the Sandhills of North Carolina. The School has dual accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS). 100% of its seniors graduate and are accepted to colleges and universities throughout the nation.