Pirates Unite Capital Campaign

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The Pirate Club and ECU Athletics staff, coaches and student-athletes are continuously blown away by the loyalty, generosity and dedication of Pirate Nation. We cannot thank each of you enough for your donations and commitments to the Pirates Unite Campaign. Please read below on three incredible gifts received over the past week to the campaign.

ECU alumnus and former Pirates baseball standout, Mike Harrington, and his wife, Holly, have invested $100,000 in the Pirates Unite Campaign for Comprehensive Excellence. Harrington's gift will assist with the funding of the baseball building expansion project.

"On behalf of everyone associated with ECU Baseball, I would like to thank Mike and Holly for their support of our program," ECU Baseball Head Coach Cliff Godwin said. "Mike was a teammate of mine, and I know he has an excellent understanding of the student-athlete experience, and this gift will have a direct impact on everybody involved with our program. Being a student-athlete at ECU is a once in a lifetime experience, and we are fortunate to have former student-athletes like Mike give back to the next generation of Pirates."

Harrington, the CEO and Owner of Carolina Retreats, earned a bachelor's degree from ECU in 2003 and a Master of Business Administration in 2004. He was a member of two (2001, 2004) regional title teams during his time in Greenville.

ECU Athletics and the Pirate Club are pleased to announce a $100,000 investment from Ms. Harvey Wooten to the Pirates Unite Campaign for Comprehensive Excellence. The investment is committed to men's basketball and the Minges Coliseum Renovations.

Wooten sits courtside for all men's basketball games and is a longtime supporter of the Pirate Club and ECU. A native of Kinston, Wooten has lived in Greenville for more than 40 years and has made a lasting impact on her community.

"We are grateful for the generous support from Ms. Harvey Wooten," Pirate Club Executive Director Ryan Robinson said. "Ms. Wooten is a fixture in our community with her passion for the arts, her countless hours volunteering her time with local organizations, and I know the Pirates basketball team is also near and dear to her heart. This investment will not only be impactful to the student-athletes in our men's basketball program but all our programs that compete in Minges Coliseum."

Wooten is one of the founding members of the ECU Thomas Harriot College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Advancement Council. She established the Harvey Sharp Wooten Study Abroad Scholarship and the Ms. Harvey S. Wooten Voyages of Discovery Endowment. The endowment allows a series of distinguished speakers from every field to appear on campus for students and faculty of ECU and citizens of eastern North Carolina. In addition. Wooten serves as a board member of both Pitt County Arts Council and A Time for Science.

ECU alumnus and longtime benefactor, David Bond and his wife, Pam, have invested $100,000 to the Pirates Unite Capital Campaign. The gift will support the proposed multipurpose indoor facility off Charles Boulevard.

David graduated from ECU in 1978 with a degree in marketing and currently serves as the CEO of Dynamic Benchmarking which provides businesses with accurate, up-to-date and relevant performance metrics.

"We are appreciative of David and Pam for their investment in the Pirates Unite Campaign," ECU Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert said. "The Bonds are great examples of the enormous impact our Pirate Club members can have on the lives of our student-athletes. They genuinely want to help, and they have made numerous investments over the years to push ECU Athletics forward."

The Bonds have a long history of generosity with ECU Athletics and the Pirate Club. Along with James W. Chesnutt, David established a professorship in the Miller School of Entrepreneurship in 2018. The Bonds have participated in multiple Pirate Club campaigns including the Second Century Campaign and the Circle of Excellence. In addition, the Bonds have an endowment with the Pirate Club.

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