SANFORD - An endowment has been established at Central Carolina Community College to honor sisters Gail Smith Bridges and Patricia "Pat" Smith Bridges of the Deep River Community.

The endowment, which was established by the Bridges family, will help to fund a scholarship for a Lee County student with financial need.

"Sisters Gail and Pat were doers, active in the community. They did not fit a mold. They got things done. Perhaps this scholarship will enable deserving students to be likeminded," says the Bridges family.

The sisters, who both died in 2015, were the daughters of the late Albert Edward Smith and Nettie Reid Parrish Smith.

Gail Smith Bridges was a 1958 graduate of Deep River High School and a graduate of The Dell School of Medical Technology in Asheville. She was a Registered Medical Technologist in the laboratory at the old Lee County Hospital and later Central Carolina Hospital for a combined 40-plus years. She was the manager of the blood bank in the hospital lab during her last 20 years of service.

As a member of Flat Springs Baptist Church, she was instrumental in the formation of the Senior Adult Ministry (SAM) and active in the Dorcas Mission. A generation of children will remember Mrs. Gail from Vacation Bible School. She was a member of the Joy/Ora Bridges ladies' Sunday School class.

Patricia "Pat" Smith Bridges was a 1960 graduate of Deep River High School and a graduate of Sanford Business College. Her first job was working for her father, Ed Smith, at the Progressive Stores, followed by Southern National Bank and First Federal Savings and Loan. After her retirement from banking, she built and directed North Lee Child Development Center in the Deep River Community. A legion of children, now grown, fondly remember "Ms. Pat." Along with many others, she was heavily involved in the hugely popular Deep River Fourth of July Celebration held many years ago behind the old Deep River High School.

As a member of Flat Springs Baptist Church, she was instrumental in the formation of the Senior Adult Ministry (SAM). Her work in the church included former Women's Missionary Union (WMU) Director and former Sunday School teacher. She served as Assistant Treasurer of the church and co-director of Vacation Bible School. She also served as past president of the Lee County Democratic Women.

"Gail and Pat Bridges were outstanding women from the Deep River area who understood the value of an education," said Emily Hare, CCCC Foundation Executive Director. "What an honor it is that the family has chosen to remember these special ladies through an endowment with the CCCC Foundation. Gail and Pat changed lives themselves through their work in the community and now that legacy will live on through this scholarship."

The CCCC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization affiliated with, but independent of, Central Carolina Community College. It receives donations of money and equipment on behalf of CCCC and uses them to promote the educational mission of the college and assist students through scholarships and grants.

For information on giving to the Foundation or its fund-raising events, contact Emily Hare, executive director of the CCCC Foundation and Development Office, 919-718-7230 or ehare@cccc.edu. To apply for a scholarship, contact the CCCC Financial Aid Office, 919-718-7229.