Local businessman gifts $50,000 to Bald Head Island Academy

BALD HEAD ISLAND, NC (WWAY) — The only school on Bald Head Island received a generous donation this week. 

Doug Witcher, the founder and CEO of insurance network company Smart Choice donated $50,000 to Bald Head Island Academy on behalf of the Douglas S. Witcher Family Foundation. 

The private school teaches grades K-9 and is the only school on the island. The check was presented to academy co-founder Sheree Vaickus, with several community leaders in attendance. 

Witcher said he wanted to give back to the island as more young families move there. 

“The first place to start, if they have a school, is at the school and working with the families and children,” he said “Promoting that as much as I can, in hopes that that school will continue to grow all the way to high school.” 

Witcher has also previously donated more than $20 million to his alma mater, High Point University.