Sally Crotts
Van Jackson Crotts and wife Sally established the original scholarship in 2014 to provide financial assistance to prospective engineers from his hometown of Winston-Salem in Forsyth County. Van passed away from brain cancer at the age of 56 in 2015. Van was an engineer through and through! He was very successful in machine tool sales, and was highly respected by his customers, employees and peers in the industry. He was also a very active member of the N. C. Society of Engineers, as was his father, Marcus Bowman Crotts. The Society dissolved in 2025 due to declining membership, after 109 years of continuous existence. The membership voted to transfer the balance of the organization’s funds to the Crotts scholarship to double its benefit and modify the name to Crotts-N. C. Society of Engineers Scholarship.
Impact
It’s a wonderful legacy from my late husband. Also the N. C. Society of Engineers was greatly supported by the Crotts family for many years, sharing the same values and purpose. Combining the funding allows a greater benefit to the shared vision of both Van and Sally Crotts and the N. C. Society of Engineers.