Robert Grant and Kenneth "Butch" Henry Trailblazer Award: Ceremony & Award Details
7/31/2021 8:00:00 AM | General
Wake Forest will honor Grant and Henry the weekend of the Demon Deacons home game against NC State this fall. Each year, the recipients of the award will be announced in the spring or summer and honored at a ceremony on a home football weekend.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest Athletics has developed the Robert Grant and Kenneth "Butch" Henry Trailblazer Award that will be celebrated annually and honored this year with an event on the weekend of Wake Forest's home game against NC State on Nov. 13. This award was named in honor of the first Black football student-athletes to enroll at a Division I institution in the South.
"I sincerely admire the immense courage of Robert Grant and Kenneth "Butch" Henry," President Dr. Susan R. Wente said. "Being the first two Black football players at Wake Forest took inspiring faith to believe that our Wake Forest and Winston-Salem community would offer support as they set a path for the generations that followed. We look forward to honoring these two trailblazers and coming together for this special occasion on Nov. 12."
Award Information
Phil Barnhill
Editor's Note: Maryland, who was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference for 62 years, was the first school in the conference to integrate its Athletes program when Daryl Hill enrolled in 1963.
"I sincerely admire the immense courage of Robert Grant and Kenneth "Butch" Henry," President Dr. Susan R. Wente said. "Being the first two Black football players at Wake Forest took inspiring faith to believe that our Wake Forest and Winston-Salem community would offer support as they set a path for the generations that followed. We look forward to honoring these two trailblazers and coming together for this special occasion on Nov. 12."
Award Information
- The Robert Grant and Kenneth "Butch" Henry Trailblazer Award was created to recognize the significance of the first Black football players at Wake Forest University and the historical role Wake Forest Athletics played in integrating Division I sports in the South. Being the first Black football players took Courage to take to the field on behalf of their teammates and the Wake Forest community, despite the risks. It took deep Faith to believe that their teammates, the coaching staff, and the Wake Forest community would offer steady support during critical times. As Transformational leaders, it took Trusting in their abilities, talents and tremendous fortitude to persevere, that would set trails, often not traveled, ablaze, lighting the way and leaving paths of success for all of the athletes yet to come in the south. Hence, this award celebrates Wake Forest student-athletes, alumni, staff and community members who have blazed trails in the areas of diversity, inclusion, equity and other important social issues that better the lives of others in the Pro Humanitate tradition that is the central spirit of Wake Forest University.
- Bob Grant and Butch Henry will be honored this fall on the weekend of Wake Forest's home game against NC State on Nov. 13.
- Details and more information surrounding this event will be released closer to the event.
- Future year honorees must have had impactful accomplishments in areas of diversity, inclusion, equity and other social issues.
- There is no minimum or maximum number of honorees per year, and nominees (which can be sent to wfsports@wfu.edu) will be reviewed by the newly commissioned Trailblazer Award Committee.
Phil Barnhill
- Barnhill, a former quarterback for the Demon Deacons and class of 1991 graduate, is Vice President of East Greensboro NOW, a community development corporation focused on economic development in eastern Greensboro. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and is the Chief Volunteer Officer for the YMCA of Greensboro.
- Bowden, a former Wake Forest student athlete in football and 1972 graduate of Wake Forest, received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the top civilian honor bestowed by governors of North Carolina, in 2001. An attorney based in Greensboro, Bowden has served on numerous educational boards, including the University of North Carolina Board of Governors and NC A&T State University Board of Trustees. He is a former member of the Wake Forest Alumni Council and chaired the council's Education Committee.
- Wake Forest's first ever All-ACC player in women's basketball, Dr. Collins was inducted as an ACC Tournament Legend by the conference in 2015. After graduation from Wake Forest in 1986, Collins embarked on an illustrious career in journalism, working primarily as a broadcast news producer, winning multiple Emmy, Best of Gannett, Associated Press and National Association of Black Journalist awards during her career. She currently works on Inclusion measures and SDG goals across the globe as President of World Changers Media International Foundation.
- A 2015 Wake Forest Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Connor-Riddick was a standout on the hardwood for the Deacs from 1993-1997. A first-team All-ACC selection in 1996, she ranks among the top 10 in program history in career scoring average, rebounding average, field goal percentage and free throw attempts, and led the Demon Deacons in both scoring and rebounding in each of her four seasons. After graduating from Wake Forest in 1996, she later earned her degree as a Physician's Assistant from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
- Eure, a Professor of Biology at Wake Forest, was Wake Forest's first full-time Black graduate student, first Black doctoral recipient on Reynolda Campus and the first Black full-time faculty member. On Feb. 16, 2017, Eure was awarded the University's highest honor, the Medallion of Merit, for his contributions in the classroom and in the community during his career. In April of 2017, he was elected to Wake Forest's Board of Trustees, the first faculty member in modern times to serve in that role.
- Faircloth joined Wake Forest Athletics in 2002 and currently serves as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development and Sales, where he manages the development operation, ticket sales team and other revenue areas including IMG and Tailgate Guys. A 1993 Wake Forest graduate, Faircloth has managed various external areas including development, ticket operations, gift accounting, marketing and media relations.
- A former basketball and track student-athlete at Wake Forest, Kelley currently serves as the Vice President of Equitable Advisors, a finance and investment advisory firm in High Point, N.C. She has provided financial planning advice and workshops to countless local organizations, including the North Carolina A&T Foundation and the Winston Salem State University Foundation. She has a passion for improving the racial, ethnic and gender diversity in the financial industry, and is active in hiring candidates from Wake Forest's and Winston-Salem State's finance departments.
- Lewis, a long-time staff member for Wake Forest athletics, currently serves as the Associate Athletic Director, Community and Alumni Relations. Lewis received the Mike Ford Servant Leadership Community Award from the university in 2020 in recognition of his leadership in providing service opportunities for student athletes in the spirit of Pro Humanitate.
- McGregor, a former standout on the hardwood for Wake Forest, was the first Black athlete to sign with a Big Four school in basketball in 1968. Graduating from Wake Forest in 1971, McGregor went on to play professionally in the NBA and overseas, before returning to his alma mater as an academic advisor for student athletes. He later transitioned his career to broadcasting, where he was a long-time analyst for the TV broadcasts of the Charlotte and New Orleans Hornets.
- Overton, a former football student-athlete for the Deacs, graduated from Wake Forest in 1968. He played professionally in both the NFL and the CFL, before transitioning into a successful acting career, starring in TV shows such as The New Perry Mason, Firehouse and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He published his first book, The Media: Shaping an Image of a People, in 2002.
- Puckett, a 1970 graduate of Wake Forest, is long-time supporter of Wake Forest Athletics, dating back to his time as an student assistant trainer under the legendary long-time Demon Deacon athletic trainer Doc Martin as an undergraduate. He stayed in Winston-Salem after his graduation, rarely missing a home game in the ensuing decades while serving the community as an insurance agent.
- Smith currently serves as a Regional Director for Development in Wake Forest Athletics, with a focus on Football Alumni Engagement. A former football student-athlete for the Deacs and 2000 graduate from Reynolda Campus, Smith previously served as a Community Director for the City of Raleigh for a decade before returning to his alma mater.
Editor's Note: Maryland, who was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference for 62 years, was the first school in the conference to integrate its Athletes program when Daryl Hill enrolled in 1963.