The children of the late Wendell E. and Lucille Calhoun Hinson have established a scholarship at Coastal Carolina University in memory of their parents.

Karen Hinson Ligon, Charles A. Hinson and Keith C. Hinson made the initial contribution to the Coastal Educational Foundation to establish the scholarship, and more than 90 individuals and businesses have contributed memorial donations toward the fund.

The Wendell and Lucille Calhoun Hinson Endowed Scholarship will benefit students who are native residents of Horry or Georgetown counties and who are enrolled in majors in CCU's E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration or the Spadoni College of Education. One scholarship will be awarded each academic year.

Wendell E. Hinson was a native of Conway, S.C., and served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He developed Apache Campground and Myrtle Beach Travel Park in Myrtle Beach. He died in December 2012. Lucille Calhoun Hinson taught in the Horry County Schools until her retirement. She died in August 2012.

Members of the Hinson family are longtime supporters and benefactors of Coastal Carolina University. Keith Hinson, founder of Waccamaw Land and Timber Company, has served on the Coastal Educational Foundation since 2005 and is a former chair of the Wall College Board of Visitors. Charles A. Hinson is also a former member of the Wall College Board of Visitors. Both Keith and Charles Hinson are alumni of CCU. The Hinson family donated land near Sandy Island to CCU that became the first tract in the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge.

In 2008, Keith and his wife Dixie Woodward Hinson were inducted into CCU's Atheneum Society, which recognizes individuals who have donated at least $1 million to the institution.