Port scholarship will aid business students at Coastal Carolina University
The scholarship will be awarded to a student studying business administration with preference given to Horry County students. The recipient(s) will be selected by the Scholarship Committee of the Wall College Board of Visitors. This award is part of a merit-based scholarship program sponsored by the Board of Visitors.
Port, who died in December 2007, was a former vice president for Mobil East Inc. and became active in area civic affairs after retiring to Myrtle Beach in 1975. He helped organize and was one of the early chairs of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration Board of Visitors. Port served on the executive committee of the Board of Visitors until 1999. In 2001, Port was named an honorary founder of the University.
The scholarship was established by Port's family and many of his longtime associates, particularly Louis Henry Mense.
"I consider him [Port] a mentor and I helped establish this scholarship out of loyalty to Clyde," said Mense, who has been a member of the Wall College Board of Visitors for many years and a member of the Coastal Educational Foundation for more than 10 years.
"I think the scholarship is a marvelous way to remember Clyde," said Port's wife Florence. Port was a self-made man who grew up "the hard way," she said, making 35 cents an hour. Port met his wife while they were both students at UCLA in the late 1930s.
Port was executive director of the United Way of Horry County and served as a consultant and adviser for the organization. The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce named Port a Lifetime Member in honor of his many contributions to the organization and in 1987 he was named Citizen of the Year. Port also helped organize the chamber's Leadership Grand Strand program.