An Achievable Dream’s Class of 2016 received its diplomas during a June 9 ceremony at Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center. 

Charles and Mari Ann Banks of Gloucester and Ferguson Enterprises, headquartered in Newport News, are the class sponsors. They pledged to provide annual merit scholarships of $2,000 for each student every year that they attend college and maintain a required grade point average. 

According to An Achievable Dream, 85 percent of the class graduated with an advanced studies diploma and more than 50 percent graduated with a 3.0 or higher grade point average. 

Class members completed five dual enrollment courses and 96 advanced placement courses, and all 54 graduates plan to attend college, a trade school or serve in the U.S. military.  Charles Banks was president of Ferguson Enterprises from 1989 to 2001 and then as Group Chief Executive of Wolseley Corporation, Ferguson’s parent company. Mari Ann Banks serves on t...