The Karl Davis Leadership Wilmington Alumnus of the Year Award was bestowed for the eighth time: this year to 2009 program graduate Jimmy Hopkins.
 
The award was named in memory of LW graduate and WECT General Manager Karl Davis, who died in 2008, and was a proactive force in the community, according to a news release.
 
Hopkins, a broker at Intracoastal Realty, was honored for his “extensive volunteer work and for giving back to the community,” the release stated. His community involvement includes serving on the Cape Fear Community College Board of Trustees and the Coastal Horizons Center Board of Trustees, as well as serving as chair of the Historic Preservation Committee for the City of Wilmington, Executive Committee member for the Cape Fear Home Builders Association, and the City of Wilmington’s Vision 20/20 Committee. Hopkins has also served on the Board for the Phoenix Employment Ministries where he successfully headed the fundraising committee and was the chair for the 2015 Heart Ball.
 
A second honor, the Most Outstanding Leadership Wilmington 2015 Class Member Award, was presented to Wellington Souza (Cape Fear Community College). The award was determined based on voting by the Leadership Wilmington Class of 2015 to express their appreciation for the class member who, according to the release, “went above and beyond in making contributions to the class, who was open to new ideas, and displayed outstanding leadership skills.” A native of Brazil, Souza was a “key member” of the 2015 Logistics Committee for the Leadership Wilmington class project, Work On Wilmington, the release stated. 
 
Souza is the vice president of information technology services at Cape Fear Community College, a position he previously held at High Point University.  In 2010 he received the Triad Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award.
 
Leadership Wilmington is a program of the Greater Wilmington Chamber Foundation that brings leaders from across the community together to educate, challenge and motivate participants to use their leadership skills for the betterment of the community. Leadership Wilmington organizes and implements the area’s largest community service day, Work on Wilmington (WOW), each year as its class project.