From left, are M. Wayne Goodrich, executive vice president of Jefferson Security Bank; Ramon A. Alvarez, president of the Shepherd University Foundation; Suzanne Shipley, president of Shepherd University; John F. Beatty, senior vice president and city executive of BB&T—WV North; and Michael A. Smith, vice president of Valley Proteins Inc. (Submitted photo)

SHEPHERDSTOWN – The 9th annual Scarborough Society Gala, held Aug. 13 at the Bavarian Inn, netted more than $15,000 to support the activities of the Shepherd University Scarborough Library.

A full house of 260 invited guests attended the black-tie event. The theme for this year’s event was “A River Runs Through It,” based on the semi-autobiographical collection of short stories by celebrated author and scholar Norman Maclean.

The presenting sponsors for the elegant evening of dinner and dancing were BB&T Wealth Management, hosted and represented by John and Shelly Beatty; and Jefferson Security Bank, hosted by Steve and Kathy Morris.

Valley Proteins Inc. sponsored the band, Souled Out, and was represented by Mike Smith, company owner.

Other community sponsors included Bowles Rice McDavid Graff and Love LLC; John Wolff – Capital Fiduciary Advisors; CoxHollidaPrice LLC; Friends of the Shepherdstown Riverfront; Hoxton Financial; Smith Elliott Kearns and Co. LLC; United Bank; and Jerry Williams, State Farm Insurance.

“As always, it is an honor to sponsor the Gala in its mission to endow and strengthen Scarborough Library and the Shepherd University library system,” John Beatty, senior vice president and city executive with BB&T, West Virginia North, said. “BB&T is proud to support this worthy cause.”

BB&T Corporation, headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., is among the nation’s top financial holding companies with $155.1 billion in assets. Its bank subsidiaries operate 1,800 branch offices in 12 states and the District of Columbia, and it is the largest mortgage lender in West Virginia.

“We are honored to support Shepherd University in this endeavor to benefit Scarborough Library and are pleased that it brings together supporters of Shepherd University from the communities we serve,” said Steve Morris, president and CEO of Jefferson Security Bank in Shepherdstown. “We look forward to the Scarborough Society’s continued success.”

Jefferson Security Bank is a West Virginia state-chartered bank that opened for business May 19, 1869, making it the oldest community bank in Jefferson County. The bank provides general banking services within its primary market area of Jefferson and Berkeley counties in West Virginia, and in secondary markets of Washington County, Md., and Frederick County, Va.

Written from the authors point of view, “A River Runs Through It and Other Short Stories” follows the relationship of two brothers in the summer of 1937, mainly through their interaction during fishing expeditions.

It was a fitting theme for the popular Shepherdstown-based event given the town’s location on the south side of the Potomac River along the spring-fed Town Run, which meanders through backyards, under houses, across alleys and beneath five streets.

Nature-inspired decor for the Gala was provided by Potomac Farms in the form of greenery and river rocks, and Brian Kelly of Kelly’s White Fly Shoppe in Shepherdstown loaned his handmade Victorian-era McKenzie boat, against which guests could have their picture taken.

Scarborough Society President Ray Alvarez praised this year’s Gala for its success in raising funds as well as its significance in increasing community awareness of the Society’s existence and purpose.

Shepherd University President Suzanne Shipley joined 20 other host couples from the regional community who invited friends to enjoy the evening and support the Scarborough Library.

The 222-member Scarborough Society, sponsored by the Shepherd University Foundation, was chartered in the spring 2002 as a friends-of-the-library organization to support and strengthen the Shepherd University library system.

Funds raised by the society increase the bound collections and assist in acquiring, maintaining and updating the technology necessary to operate a 21st-century library and provide a scholarship for a student library intern.

Memberships in the organization are available on an annual basis and members’ names are engraved on a Wall of Honor located in the new addition to the Scarborough Library. Members receive special library cards and privileges, and are placed on invitation lists for library lectures, book signings, musical events, seminars and receptions.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Scarborough Society is encouraged to call the Shepherd University Foundation office at 304-876-5397 or 800-344-5231, ext. 5397.