Media Information

February 5, 2010

For more information contact:
Sally Kirby Hartman
757-622-7951
shartman@hamptonroadscf.org

Forty friends and former co-workers have created the Friends of Joshua P. Darden Jr. Scholarship at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

They are contributing more than $1.2 million to start a scholarship for students graduating from public schools in South Hampton Roads who will attend college. Of the 40 donors, 20 are connected to the automobile industry. Most began their careers at Colonial Auto Group, which Darden owned until 1995. Darden helped may of them start their own dealerships or move on to management careers with other auto companies. A group of employees at Colonial Chevrolet and Colonial Cadillac are among the donors. Their contributions to the scholarship fund are being matched by Hendrick Automotive in Charlotte, which now owns the Colonial dealerships in Norfolk.

Charles Barker, chairman of Charles Barker Automotive, is among the former employees donating to the fund who consider Darden their mentor. He credits Darden and his company with “developing more car dealers than other single operation in the country.” That effort helped Darden be named Time magazine’s Automobile Dealer of the Year in 1986.
“I made a lot of phone calls about the scholarship fund, and everyone I called said they wanted to be part of this,” Barker says. “That shows the respect the people who worked for him have for Josh.”

The first donor to the new scholarship fund was Alan L. Nordlinger, senior vice president of S.L. Nusbaum Realty in Norfolk. He also considers Darden his mentor even though he never worked in the automotive business. “If I ever need advice on anything, Josh is the person I turn to for his good, sound judgment.” Nordlinger says he and his wife Susan gave the initial gift to start the scholarship fund because “Josh has done so much over the years for our community. He has given time, energy and dollars. Someone who has done so much should be honored.”

Darden has a long history of community support. He is a co-founder of the ACCESS College Foundation, which has helped more than 75,000 area students attend college. He also is helped found the regional CIVIC Leadership Institute and chaired the board of The Norfolk Foundation (now Hampton Roads Community Foundation) for 10 years. He has led state commissions and been rector of the University of Virginia.

The Hampton Roads Community Foundation is southeastern Virginia’s largest grant and scholarship provider – distributing more than $13.7 million last year. The 2009 grants and scholarships were awarded by The Norfolk Foundation and The Virginia Beach Foundation. The two foundations merged on January 1 to form the Hampton Roads Community Foundation.

The Friends of Joshua P. Darden Jr. Scholarship joins more than 50 scholarship funds administered by the foundation. This year foundation scholarships are helping more than 325 students attend 60 different colleges and universities. Additional contributions to the new scholarship fund can be made online at www.hamptonroadscf.org or by mailing a check to the Hampton Roads Community Foundation (One Commercial Place, Suite 1410, Norfolk 23510) earmarked for the Friends of Joshua P. Darden Jr. Scholarship Fund.