Sheila Boles,

2021 YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

The YWCA Lower Cape Fear is proud to announce that Sheila Boles will be honored as the recipient of the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th Annual Women of Achievement Awards, to be held virtually at 6 pm on Thursday, March 11, 2021. The Women of Achievement Awards is the signature fundraiser to celebrate women and young leaders in our community.

Sheila Boles was chosen for the Lifetime Achievement Award based on her years of service and commitment to eliminating racism and empowering women, mirroring the mission of the YWCA. Boles is a trailblazer and 1989 recipient of YWCA’s Women of Achievement Awards. She played for the first women’s basketball team at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She won the first women’s basketball scholarship the next year, and she became the team’s first MVP. In 1989, Boles was hired to coach the Men’s Varsity Basketball Team at Hoggard High School. It was another first: a woman hired to coach a men’s team. She led the team to multiple Conference Championships and earned the mid-eastern 4-A Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year Award. Always an advocate for her players, Boles helped many young men receive scholarships to play at the college level; and more importantly she was a model of character, strength, and loyalty. In 2008, she was named the North Carolina High School Association Athletic Director and was inducted into its Hall of Fame and named the NCHSAA and NCADA Athletic Director of the Year. Boles was inducted into the Colonial Athletic Association Legends, the NC High School Sports Hall of Fame, and the UNCW Sports Hall of Fame.

Throughout her career, Boles has been an integral force in her community. Through volunteering for the Miracle League, serving on the Board of Directors for the Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame, speaking to the Rotary Club, or serving on the Board of Education at Flemington Academy at the Boys and Girls Home, Boles has always tried to follow in the magnanimous footsteps of her parents.

“I am so honored and humbled that the YWCA, an organization that does so much for our community, feels that I am worthy of their Lifetime Achievement Award,” says Sheila Boles.

Sheila Boles joins 68 women as nominees that have demonstrated excellence and commitment to their careers, schools, and communities. Residing in Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, and Pender counties, nominees are distributed throughout the award categories including Advocacy & Social Justice, Arts & Culture, Business, Education, Health & Wellness, Public Service, Rachel Freeman Unsung Hero, Trailblazer, and Young Leadership Scholarship award.

 

Please join us in celebrating Sheila Boles and our 35th Annual Women of Achievement Award Recipients on March 11, 2021!

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