Buies Creek, N.C.–Dan L. Gray, executive director of the Cannon Foundation, received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan award from Campbell University during the school’s 122nd graduation exercises held Monday, May 12.Named for the 19th century New York lawyer and noted philanthropist, the award is given by the Sullivan Foundation to recognize students whose lives reflect the nobility of character of Sullivan’s life.A native of Belmont, N.C., Gray earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Appalachian State University. He is also a graduate of Campbell University’s Southeastern Trust School and the Kennedy Sinclair, Inc. Trust Sales Training program.He began a lifelong association with the Cannon Mills Company and the Cannon Foundation in the early 1960s. The Cannon Foundation, Inc. is a philanthropic fund established by Charles A. Cannon, president of Cannon Mills, in 1943.Gray was also an employee of Cabarrus Bank and Trust Company for several years before becoming the first full-time employee and executive director of the Cannon Foundation in 1983.He is an active member of the community, serving in several civic organizations, including the boards of trustees of Cabarrus Memorial Hospital/Northeast Medical Center and Wingate University and as a member of the board of directors of Citizen’s Savings and Loan, Omni Capital Bancorp, Security Capital Bancorp and the Central North Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Gray is also a past president and director of the Kannapolis Rotary Club.Photo Copy: From left, Dr. Jerry M. Wallace, president of Campbell University, congratulates Dan Gray, executive director of the Cannon Foundation, on winning the university’s Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. (Photo by Bennett Scarborough)
Executive Director of Cannon Foundation receives Campbell award