Mauney
from page At
who are eligible. for graduation from
Carver. Originally planned as a $500
scholarship, the intended award grew
when a page was created for the scholar
ship on the crowd-funding web site
Indiegogo. in just a few weeks, more than
$1,700 has been raised, and there is still
more than a month left before the
fundraising deadline.
LaShun Huntley, Mauney's best
friend, created the scholarship. He said
Mauney always talked fondly about his
time at Carver, where the two met, so he
felt a Carver-based scholarship that would
honor his friend while raising awareness
about heart disease was a fitting tribute.
"This scholarship just came from his
?? nature of giving and his interest in educa
tion and his love for Carver High School,"
said Huntley, the CEO of Southside
? ? United Medical Center.
:? Huntley and Mauney bonded as high
school freshmen, drawn together because
.they were both "Hip Hop heads." Their
*, love of the genre had them exchanging cri
tiques of Run DMC, one of Mauney's
favorites, and other popular acts of the
- time. Their friendship continued after
graduation, when they both attended
Winston-Salem State University. After
college. Mauney moved away to Charlotte
to work as a computer analyst at Wells
. . Fargo.
"He had a huge smile, an infectious
- smile," Huntley said. "If you were down, it
\ would pick you up. If you were sad, it
'X would make you happy. Most people
? * remember him by that smile."
\ - Mauney was also known for adeptness
? with computers. Friends would turn to him
t ? when technology issues arose, and he
\ would oblige, even if it meant driving
* from Charlotte to Winston, said Huntley ,
' ? who last spent time with Mauney on Super
I. Bowl Sunday (Feb. 2). They spent some
? 'time looking through old Carver year
J books while laughing and reminiscing.
?Mauney was the youngest of five chil
?? dren. His sister, Barenda, also lived in
* Charlotte and would often look after his
dog. Snoop, when her brother would travel
to Winston-Salem to check on his 95 year
old aunt, Maxine Simmons. It was when
he failed to drop Snoop off one morning
that she knew something was wrong. After
there was no answer at his house, she
called the police. He had passed away in
his sleep. Mauney had been taking med
ication for high blood pressure but was
otherwise healthy, she said, so his death
came as a complete shock.
Barenda calls the response to the
scholarship "wonderful."
"That was my heart," she said of her
brother. "That's my baby. 1 had problems,
he's the one 1 can go and talk to because I
know it wouldn't go anywhere."
The impact Mauney had on so many
people is the reason why Huntley thinks
the scholarship fundraising has been so
successful. A decision on whether to give
one large scholarship to a single student or
smaller awards to several students will be
made in the near future.
Huntley expects the scholarship or
scholarships to be given this year. He
wants a perpetual fund so that awards can
be given each year. He plans to turn to cor
porations to help make that a reality. Plans
for a fundraiser next February - a month
dedicated to heart disease awareness and
when Mauney would have celebrated a
birthday - are also in the works.
To contribute to the B. Mauney Heart
Scholarship, visit
igg me!at/BMauney Scholarship.
I- Huntley Photo
BFFs Lashun Huntley and Brandon
Mauney.
'Heaven'
from pagtAl
the week, he visits local
salons and businesses ?
including City Hall and the
Forsyth County Sheriffs
Office - to hawk his good
ies. He also supplies sever
al restaurants. His "mini
cakes," oversized cupcakes,
are among his most popular
items; he typically bakes
about four dozen a day.
"1 try to make about
four to five different flavors
a day because I do so many
different flavors," he
explained.
Furches spends so
much time in the kitchen
that he wears his work
wherever he goes. People
often catch a whiff of cake
when he is near.
"It's in my pores now,"
he said with a laugh. "It's
part of me."
He licensed A Slice of
Heaven, which is named
for his goddaughter Heaven
Woodbury, as an LLC in
2012, but its history dates
back to more than a decade
before that, when the quest
for a collection of Nike Air
Max sneakers laid the
foundation for his future
career.
"1 wanted to have every
color every third Saturday
when they came out,"
Furches said of the shoes,
which were a hot ticket
item when he was in high
school. "Although my par
ents spoiled me to death. 1
had to find out how to make
my own money, so I started
baking cakes."
Furches sold the cakes
at the bus stop, bringing in
$9?$ 11 per cake ? enough
to support his shoe habit.
Later, as an employee at
Aon Consulting, he revived
the service, selling mini
cakes to coworkers all
across the call center.
"I love for people to be
happy," he said of his desire
to continue the work. "...
That's a big perk, just to
see the smiles on people's
faces."
Before long, Furches
had a full fledged business
model.
"Word of mouth is like
wildfire," he declared "It's
been unbelievable the
amount of customers I
have, just by word of
mouth, and it makes me
feel great because it means
my work is good."
Many of his former
East Forsyth classmates are
now faithful A Slice of
Heaven customers, Furches
said.
"It's just so many of my
former classmates that sup
port my business - I get
orders from Korea from
people that are studying
abroad." he related. "It just
really amazes me ... it's so
special to me they support
me."
Longtime Winston
Salem resident Brenda
Manley is one of Furches'
many happy customers.
Manley. a retired program
manager, purchased a cake
for her sister's birthday two
years ago and returned to
Furches last month, to
order a custom cake in
honor of her father. Frank
Manley. a World War II vet
eran who turned 100. The
cake, which was adorned
with edible photographs,
delighted her father and his
guests, Manley said.
"The cake was so pretty
he didn't want to cut it,"
she declared, adding that
she has already contracted
Furches to make a cake in
honor of her parents'
upcoming 68th wedding
anniversary. "...He's an
outstanding young man.
He's very professional. I
would recommend him at
any time to anyone."
In addition to making
custom cakes for every
thing from birthdays to
weddings, Furches also
offers additional bridal
services, from makeup to
catering and decor. Jessica
Cannon came to A Slice of
Heaven last year in search
of a very special cake.
"I was looking for
someone to prepare a cake
for my wedding and he
came highly recommend
m
Submitted Photos
Above: Centenarian
Frank Manley's cake
featured images of his
long life.
Left: Will Furches tops
his mini cakes with a
variety of toppings .from
candy to strawberry
syrup.
Below: Another of Will
Furches' creations for a
couple's special day.
ed." explained Cannon, a
nursing assistant. "...He
has a passion for what he
does, and you can tell that
right off the hat."
Cannon had selected
orange and silver for her
wedding colors, and
Furches suggested an
orange moscato cake to
compliment the motif. He
also catered a home cooked
meal for the couple's 100
guests and decorated the
church for the affair.
Cannon said she and her
husband couldn't be happi
er with the way things
turned out.
"It was awesome," she
said of the wedding, and
the cake, which she
described as "delectable."
"It was everything I
dreamed of and more."
Furches is also the sole
proprietor of Testimony
Mime Company, minister
ing to people through the
art of gospel miming, and
puts his culinary skills to
good use once a month, by
crafting a home cooked
meal for dozens of home
less people at Macedonia
Worship Center.
He has won back-to
back Forsyth County
Entertainment Awards, for
his baking skills in 2012
and his miming in 2013.
The two companies keep
him busy, but Furches sees
his work more as a calling
than a career.
"A lot of people, they
work to get money," he
observed. "Me, I work and
I mime because I feel hon
estly that that's something
that I have to do."
For more information
about A Slice of Heaven,
find the company on
Facebook or contact
Furches at 336-655-6637
Community Service
honorees selected
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Wake Forest School
of Law Dean Blake
Morant and Twana
Wellman-Roebuck, the
executive director of the
nonprofit the Experiment
in Self-Reliance (ESR),
have been selected to
receive top honors at The
Chronicle's 29th Annual
Community Service
Awards Gala.
A panel of notables
selected Morant as Man
of the Year, Wellman
Roebuck as Woman of
the Year and more than a
dozen other people and
local entities for several
other awards.
Morant has earned
national recognition for
his leadership of the Law
School, including an
appointment to the
Federal Judicial Center
Foundation Board by
Chief Justice of the
United States John
Roberts.
Wellman-Roebuck
has spent the bulk of her
professional career work
ing to uplift families and
communities. She recent
ly spearheaded a multi
million dollar capital
campaign that will fund
ESR's new headquarters.
Special Recognition
Awards will go to Tim
Wilson, the Winston
Salem Police officer who
subdued a gun-wielding
high school student, pos
sibly thwarting a deadly
incident; Carrie Vickery,
a young attorney who
donated a kidney to a
man whom she had only
known for less than a
year; and Carmelita
Coleman, a Department
of Social Services
employee renowned for
her dedication to youth in
foster care.
Eddie Bines Jr., an
accomplished baritone
well-known for his direc
tion of the Big Four
Choir, will receive the
Curator of the African
American Arts Award.
The Social Promoters, a
decades-old fellowship
club, has been named the
Organization of the Year.
The School of the Year
Award will go to Atkins
Academic and
Technology High, which
has emerged as one of the
county's most successful
schools. The Business of
the Year Award will go to
Carolina's Vineyards and
Hops, a swank and popu
lar spot founded by
Christopher Megginson.
New Jerusalem
Missionary Baptist
Church has been selected
as the Church of the Year
for its many outreach
ministries and programs.
The Human Relations
Award will go to the
Winston-Salem Legal Aid
of North Carolina office,
which has provided pro
bono services for the past
50 years.
Lifetime Achievement
Awards will go to Jim
Conrad, a longtime busi
ness owner and public
servant; Billie Matthews,
a former educator who
continues to impact the
community through her
many volunteer activi
ties; and Elva Jones, the
much-venerated chair of
Winston-Salem State
University Computer
Science Department.
The awards will be
presented Saturday,
March 22 beginning at 6
p.m. at the Benton
Convention Center.
Tickets are $25 and are
available by calling 336
722-8624 or at The
Chronicle, 617 N. Liberty
St.
Conrad
Jones
Matthews
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest
H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published
every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing
Co. Inc., 617 N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C.
27101. Periodicals postage-paid at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Annual subscription price is $30.72.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636
Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636
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