Jerry Tolley, director of annual giving, received the Laurel Wreath Award Jan.
24 at the State Capitol in Raleigh.
Tolley received the award from North Carolina Governor Mike Easley during ceremonies
in the governor’s office. The Laurel Wreath Award is presented to North Carolinians
or North Carolina teams who demonstrate exceptional achievement in athletics.
Past recipients have included the 2001 Duke University men’s basketball team,
which won the NCAA national championship, and North Carolina Olympians who have
won medals.
A native of Edenton, Tolley served as Elon’s head football coach from 1977-1981.
He led Elon to NAIA national championships in 1980 and 1981, the first national
titles ever won by the school. During his five seasons as head coach, he complied
a record of 49 wins, 11 losses and 2 ties, and coached Bobby Hedrick, Elon’s
all-time career rushing leader with 5,605 yards.
Tolley, a former mayor of the town of Elon, worked in the university’s institutional
advancement office from 1982-1986. He was associate vice president of community
and public affairs and training at Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp)
in Burlington before returning to the advancement staff in 1999 as a major gifts
officer.