Willie Gary Hosts the 6th Annual Football
Classic between Shaw University &
Edwards Waters College

Jacksonville, FL – Attorney Willie Gary hosted the 6th Annual Willie E. Gary Football Classic in Jacksonville, Florida to help raise funds for two of the nation’s oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida.

The 6th Annual Football Classic College Fair took place at the Prime Osborne Convention Center, and the Football Classic took center stage at Raines Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Each year, the Classic is a face-off between the Edward Waters College Tigers and the Shaw University Bears. Gary is credited with reviving the football programs at both Shaw University and Edward Waters College. This year’s Football Classic trophy was presented to Edwards Waters College after its 31-30 win against Shaw University. This is the first victory for the Tiger’s after a five game losing streak in the Football Classic.

Prior to the game, the Football Classic’s 6th annual college fair attracted hundreds of children who have the desire to attend college and pursue rewarding careers. Recruiters from Howard University, Florida A&M University, Morehouse College, Tuskegee University, and Norfolk State University were among the thirty-five schools exhibiting at the event. College Day guest speakers, included Edward Waters’ College President, Dr. Claudette Williams, and Shaw University’s President, Dr. Clarence Newsome.

They motivated the boys and girls to continue to work hard, stay in school, and to strive for academic excellence. “The Willie Gary Football Classic is not just about football; it is about supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” stated Gary. “Shaw University offered me opportunities that changed my life, and for that, I am forever indebted to them,” continued Gary.

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Willie Gary knows better than anyone that tough times never last but tough people do. Growing up in a poor migrant family, Gary beat the odds to become a multi-millionaire nationally renown attorney, who is known for giving back to the less fortunate. 

Gary keeps rising out of the shack he and his ten sisters and brothers shared. Gary  was the first black male to go to college from the small town of Indiantown where his family labored in the cane fields. He still remembers the tiny shack where he lived in the Silver City settlement of Pahokee, Florida. Gary often drives by the shack with a clear vision of those times.

Gary, Williams, Finney, Lewis, Watson & Sperando, P.L., is headquartered in the Waterside Professional Plaza, a historic art-deco landmark on the St. Lucie River in Stuart.

Gary bought the building in 1988 and executed $3 million in renovations to the property. The firm's Ft. Pierce offices are on the Intercostal Waterway, just south of the Fort Pierce inlet.

The Gary Foundation is committed to enhancing the lives of youth and steering them away from crime and drugs.

Through scholarships and funding for agencies such as the Gertrude Walden Center and other educational institutions, the foundation instills the desire to learn.