William G. Blount Family Invests $500,000 In Pirates Unite Campaign

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina University Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert and Pirate Club Executive Director Ryan Robinson announced Friday that the William G. Blount Family has made a $500,000 investment to support the Pirates Unite Campaign for Comprehensive Excellence. The investment was made by William "Bill" Blount and his sons, Gray and Hunter.

A portion of the investment is committed to the Minges Coliseum renovations which will include enhanced premium seating areas and graphics. In addition, funds will be used for the proposed multipurpose indoor facility located within the current athletic footprint that will benefit all sports programs.

"We are sincerely grateful to the Blount family – Bill, Gray and Hunter – for their commitment displayed through this investment in the Pirates Unite Campaign," Gilbert said. "From the first day of discussions, Bill was enthusiastic about wanting to help and making a difference for our student-athletes and athletics department. The Blount Family are lifelong members of our community and understand the lasting impact these funds will have for the future success of the Pirates."

The Blount family is a staple in the Greenville community. Bill Blount serves as the Chairman of Home Builders Supply with his son Gray who is the President. Home Builders Supply is a local family-owned business that has served the Greenville area since 1946. Hunter Blount serves as President of Eastern Property Management, the family's real estate business which owns and operates a wide variety of multi-family properties in our community including popular student community Riverwalk Homes, The Berkeley at Medford Pointe, The Gables and Eastgate Village.

In addition, Bill has served leadership roles on numerous boards in the community and at ECU, including the Advancement Counsel for the school of Engineering, Greenville/Pitt County Chamber of Commerce, previous Chairman of the Greenville Utilities Commission and past Chairman of the ECU Real Estate Foundation. Additionally, Bill serves as an Emeritus Board Member of the East Carolina University Foundation, where daughter-in-law, Kara Blount, now serves as Vice Chair.

"Our family loves Eastern North Carolina, our local community and East Carolina University," Bill Blount explained. "As a family, we are blessed to be able to give back to a place that has been so good to us. We have supported the Pirate Club and ECU Athletics for a long time because we understand the importance of athletics to our community and the power of an education to the young men and women who wear the Purple and Gold. You look at the amount of people that visit our area on football weekends and it positively impacts our local businesses and economy. We all bleed purple, and we are excited about the future. We hope others will be enthusiastic about moving the Pirates forward through the Pirates Unite Campaign."

The Blount Family has championed ECU for many years. ECU's Blount Sport and Recreation Intramural Athletic Complex is named after William G. & Barbara Keck Blount thanks to a generous gift in 1995. Home Builders Supply Company funds a scholarship for the Department of Construction Management and both Gray and Hunter are ECU alumni with Gray earning a degree from the College of Business and Hunter earning a degree from the Department of Construction Management. He currently serves on the Construction Management Advisory Board. Both Gray's wife, Nikki, and Hunter's wife, Kara, are also proud ECU alumni. The legacy continues as grandson Hunter Blount, Jr., is currently in the Construction Management program.

"It doesn't take long in a conversation to understand how much ECU, our local community and the Pirates mean to Bill, Hunter and Gray," Robinson said. "They bleed purple and gold and have been dedicated supporters for a long time. They are fully committed to giving back to a school they love, and we are appreciative they made the choice to invest in the Pirates Unite Campaign. This is the most aggressive campaign in Pirate Club history, and I could not be more appreciative of our donors stepping up and supporting the multiple projects."

The Pirates Unite campaign is a $60 million fundraising campaign that was initiated in May of 2022 to create an opportunity for donors to partner and invest with ECU Athletics and the Pirate Club. Nearly $12 million has been invested in the campaign since the launch. This campaign will provide critical funds, essential training spaces for student-athletes and make an impact on all program's ability to succeed. The campaign has received immense support over the first four months.

William G. Blount Family Invests $500,000 In Pirates Unite Campaign

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