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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Local surfer receives scholarship in honor of Wilmington guitarist

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By Elly Colwell

Intern

A Wrightsville Beach surfing nonprofit awarded one of its members with a $500 scholarship in honor of the late William “Paco” Strickland, a Wilmington guitarist and surfer.

Dylan Brian Wishart is a freshman at Cape Fear Community College and will use his scholarship as he furthers his studies in healthcare. Wishart is a member of the Wrightsville Beach Longboard Association, competes in the Eastern Surfing Association and is an Eagle Scout. 

The Wrightsville Beach Longboard Association established the scholarship in Strickland’s honor in 2014, a year after the musician died from a rare bone marrow cancer.

Strickland was a public voice in Wilmington for nearly 15 years while he hosted a Flamenco radio program on WHQR and The Penguin. He also wrote, recorded, and performed his own music in a style that he described on his Facebook page as, “A blend of world music styles leaning on Spanish-Latin and Flamenco-Middle Eastern guitar styles held together with extremely strong percussion.”

The guitarist took up surfing in his 50s and surfed with Wrightsville Beach longboarders almost daily.  He pursued the sport until his diagnosis in 2008. 

The man is now honored when the Paco Strickland Scholarship is awarded annually to a member of the longboard association or their child to pursue higher education. The scholarship is part of the nonprofit’s efforts to unite surfers and better the community.

In 2017, the scholarship will be awarded during the Wrightsville Beach Longboard Association’s longboard contest in October.

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