John Dempsey, president of Sandhills Community College, received the 2011 Builder’s Cup Friday night. The award was presented during the 77th Kiwanis Builder’s Cup Banquet at the Fordham Room at Belle Meade of St. Joseph of the Pines.

The Cup, which was first awarded in 1927, is presented to a Moore County resident “who by unselfish service without hope of personal gain has outstandingly contributed to the upbuilding of the Sandhills.”

Dempsey accepted the award, saying he was honored and humbled to have his name associated with so many community leaders who previously won the award.

“It’s like winning the Masters, getting your name of the trophy and then seeing Ben Hogan’s name,” Dempsey said.

Winners for the past decade include: Elizabeth Liddell (2000), Mr. and Mrs. George Little (2001), Dr. and Mrs. John Monroe (2002), Harry Webb (2003), Robert E. Lee (2004), William Samuels (2005), Marshall Berg (2006), Linda Hubbard (2007), Charles Frock (2008), Lawrence Johnson (posthumously) and Olive Johnson (2009), and Mark Wethington (2010).

Hubbard chaired this year’s selection committee.

Jay St. John presented the award to Dempsey, calling him a “block of granite in the community.”

“Thing of the lives John Dempsey has changed, the college he’s transformed and the community he’s helped shape,” St. John said.

The Builders Cup is not necessarily given out each year, and the winner doesn’t have to be a member of Kiwanis.

Dempsey was appointed president of SCC in 1989. During his tenure, SCC has experienced unprecedented growth that has made it one of the most respected community colleges in the country.

For more on this story, see Sunday's print edition of The Pilot.