6 August 2019

Dear Board of Trustees:

Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III is the current owner of , and co-owner of JR Motorsports, and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Marrow Program. A retired race car driver himself, he began his career in auto racing at age 14. Hendrick achieved his stock car racing notoriety as owner, winning 12 NASCAR Cups at the helm of Hendrick Motorsports, which led to his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017. Hendrick, born on July 12, 1949, in Warrenton, , was raised on his family's farm. Hendrick, at the age of 14, began drag racing in a self-built 1931 . Two years later, at age 16, he won the division of the Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest, a two-part test consisting of a written exam and a timed hands-on diagnosis and repair of defects planted on a car. While attending Park View High School in South Hill, Virginia, he considered being a professional baseball player. After high school, he decided to pursue a co-op work study program with North Carolina State University and Westinghouse Electric Company in Raleigh, North Carolina. Afterward, Hendrick opened a small used-car lot with Mike Leith, named Hendrick Automotive Group. Leith, an established new-car dealer, was convinced to name Hendrick the general sales manager of the company, at age 23. In 1976, he sold his assets to purchase a franchise in Bennettsville, South Carolina. After doing so, he became the youngest Chevrolet dealer in the . Hendrick's influence increased sales to make the once troubled location become the region's most profitable. The success of Bennettsville was a precursor to the Hendrick Automotive Group, which now has 98 franchises and 10,000 employees across 13 states. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, his company had a revenue of excess of $3.5 billion in 2009, after selling 100,000 vehicles and servicing 1.5 million, and is the sixth-largest dealership in the United States. Hendrick is also the chairman of the company. In 1997, Hendrick began the Hendrick Marrow Program, a non-profit works with the Be The Match Foundation to support the National Marrow Donor Program. It raises funds to add volunteers to the Be The Match Registry, which helps to find a marrow match for patients. It also provides assistance to recipients with uninsured transplant costs. Since the beginning, it has raised millions of dollars, 100,000 potential donors to the organization and eased the financial burden of more the 5,000 patients with grants from the Hendrick Family Fund for Patient Assistance.

FOUNDATION.WAKETECH.EDU 9101 FAYETTEVILLE ROAD RALEIGH, NC 27603-5696 919.866.6250

Afterward, he and his wife, Linda, were honored in 1999 with the Be The Match Foundation's Leadership for the Life Award. He takes a personal approach to the cause after being diagnosed in November 1996 with chronic myelogenous leukemia, but has been in full remission since December 1999. Hendrick also has a passion for The Hendrick Foundation for Children, a foundation that supports programs and services that benefit youngsters with illness, injury, disability or other hindrance, and was established by his brother, John Hendrick. Governor Jim Hunt recognized Hendrick in 1996 with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina's highest civilian honor. The award is bestowed upon citizens of the state who have a proven record of extraordinary service. Hendrick Automotive has a long history of support for Wake Tech Community College having donated over $160,000 to support scholarships and departmental growth. Mr. Hendrick was approached in 2018 by Foundation Board Member Tommy Laakso to name the soon- to-be-built automotive training facility on the Scott Northern Campus. He has agreed to do so by way of $840,000 which will be added to their prior record of $160,000 to yield a total gift of $1,000,000 which aligns with the Trustee policy. The Wake Tech Foundation firmly supports this naming and is excited to partner with Hendrick Automotive to continue improving the education delivered to our students in automotive technology and collision.

FOUNDATION.WAKETECH.EDU 9101 FAYETTEVILLE ROAD RALEIGH, NC 27603-5696 919.866.6250