Thanksgiving at
Carver came early
BY KIM UNDERWOOD
WINSTON-SALEM/FORSYTH
COUNTYSCHOOLS
At Carver High School,
Thanksgiving came on
Tuesday this year.
Students in the
Academy of Hospitality &
Tourism - under the leader
ship of academy coordina
tor Dewayne Tillman -
served a Thanksgiving
meal to students on the A/B
Honor Roll and their fami
lies.
Thanks to LaShonda
Stone of Mansion House of
Design and her sister,
Swynette Stone-Smith,
who is an Exceptional
Children case manager at
Carver, the media center
had been transformed into
an elegant dining area.
The food had been
donated by Carver fami
lies.
"Everybody's parents
brought a dish," said Mitzi
Pastrana, a senior in the
academy.
Eyvette Abbott, whose
son, Edmund, is a sopho
more at Carver, had
brought fried chicken.
Abbott, who is the pastor at
Miracles Outreach
International Ministries,
said she was glad that
Carver was having the din
ner.
"It means a lot," Abbott
said.
"It's great," said
Marquitta Sims, who had
come to have dinner with
her niece Delmaja Bess,
who is a senior.
"This is a wonderful
time," Tillman said as he
welcomed everyone.
Principal Travis Taylor
said that he appreciated
what Tillman and the stu
dents were doing.
"This is an opportunity
for people to come togeth
er," Taylor said.
One goal of the event
was to strengthen the con
nections between the
school and community,
said Lakeyia Ingram, the
career development coordi
nator for Carver.
Some academy stu
dents see participating in
the academy as a step
toward owning their own
business one day.
"I want to own my own
business where everybody
comes to have a good
time," said senior Kanijah
Edwards. "I want a place
where everybody can come
and enjoy their family and
friends."
Junior Fashad Morrison
wants to own a technology
business one day. He thinks
that the experience of serv
ing others that he is gaining
through the academy will
serve him well in reaching
that goal.
"It sets up real-life
experiences for customer
service," Morrison said.
Something on the
minds of several students
in the academy was
Carver's reputation in the
community. Most students
at Carver care about their
school, about making good
grades and about being
successful, said senior
Jakyia Vance.
Some people think of
Carver as a troubled
school, though, they said.
They hope that events such
as the Thanksgiving dinner
help give people a positive
impression of Carver.
"Carver is more than
what you think," said
Pastrana. "We have a lot of
great things."
By the time everyone
had been served, more than
200 students, parents and
members of the community
had shared Thanksgiving
dinner.
"This amount of
parental participation is a
landmark for Carver High
School," Tillman said.
Other Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
schools also served
Thanksgiving dinner.
On Thanksgiving Day,
the people at Hall-Woodard
Elementary School served
more than 500 students and
their families at the school.
St. Paul's United Methodist
Church and churches from
the Kemersville area united
to sponsor the meal. (See
story on page B5.)
WS/PCS photo
Academy of Hospitality & Tourism students served A/B Honor Roll students and
their families under the leadership of academy coordinator Dewayne Tillman,
second from right. Lakeyia Ingram, the career development coordinator for
Carver, is first on the left.
Left to right) Charles Thigpen, Azzalea Thigpen, Debra Hale, and Willie Johnson sing the freedom song "Ain't; Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round' as they
march in Selma, Alabama in an excerpt of the play "When Courage Becomes Contagious: Remembering Selma Then and Now" by Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph. D.
Play about voting rights gets attention during election season
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The play "When Courage Becomes
Contagious: Remembering Selma Then
and Now" by Felecia Piggott-Long, Ph.
D., has been performed in the community
several times in this election season.
Bishop Sir Walter Mack wanted to
encourage church members to get out the
vote. The early voting schedule started on
Thursday, Oct. 20 - Saturday, Nov. 5.
Several of the candidates who were run
ning for office attended the church service
and spoke about their platforms. Dr. Mack
encouraged members to vote their con
science, but to also remember the Word of
God as the plumbline or the standard for a
Godly leader.
On Sunday, Oct. 16, the Union Baptist
Drama Ministry performed an excerpt of.
the play. They performed a scene from the
Voter Registration office in Selma,
Alabama.
More than 150 people attended a din
ner theatre for the play "When Courage
Becomes Contagious," which was fea
tured for the Big Four on Friday Sept.' 16.
The background for the play: African
Americans citizens had to muster up the
courage to register to vote in spite of the
literacy tests they were subjected to.
Voting officials might ask African
Americans to guess the number of marbles
in a jar, or they might ask them a question
such as "When was President George
Washington's birthday?
(Catherine Martin served as the narra
tor for the presentation. Willie Johnson
played the role of President Barak Obama
when he stood on the Edmund Pettus
Bridge in 2015 to celebrate the re-signing
of the Voting Rights Act 50 years later.
Charles Thigpen, a Selma police officer,
and Azzalea Thigpen, the Selma Voter
Registration Clerk, harassed Black voters
Richard Rowell, Lisha Edmonds, and
Debra Hale. Reynita McMillan and Justin
Johnson were also Selma demonstrators.
Cameron Brown supplied photographs of
Bloody Sunday, Selma Demonstrations,
and the gathering on the Edmund Pettus
Bridge in 1965 and 2015.
"Voting rights are important" said Dr.
Piggott-Long. " I wrote this play to call
attention to the unsung heroes who have
demonstrated for voting rights in Selma,
Alabama, and in North Carolina. We can
not take voting for granted. Now is the
time to cast our votes and participate in the
political process."
2 from area, receive Governor's Award for Excellence
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE I
TaWanna Archia, a pro
gram manager for Career
Development &
Community Engagement
in the Student Affairs
Office at UNC School of
the Arts, and Robert
Walker, director of busi
ness services and systems
for UNC-Greensboro, are
two of 16 recipients of the
2016 Governor's Awards
for Excellence.
Archia won in the
Public Service category for
her efforts at raising aware
ness of the sensitive topic
of domestic violence.
She .founded I'm My
Sister's Keeper, an organi
zation dedicated to provid
ing support for domestic
violence victims. She start
ed the organization after
one of the members of her
church was killed as the
result of an abusive rela
tionship.
The mission of I'm My
Sister's Keeper is to identi
fy the presence of domestic
violence in the community
and provide resources and
support to those who suffer
in abusive relationships.
I'm My Sister's Keeper is a
faith-based organization
that welcomes everyone.
To raise funds for the
organization, Archia has
organized a series of
fundraising events, includ
ing a Winter Wellness
event with health screen
ings and wellness tips, a
"Zumbathon" with a semi
nar about negative think
ing, and an on-going t-shirt
fundraiser. Volunteers for
I'm My Sister's Keeper
also regularly prepare toi
letry packets for local bat
tered women's shelters.
Walker has proven him
self as an innovator by
virtue of his work improv
ing UNCG's mail delivery
service, award officials
said.
Walker and Archia
were honored at the
Governor's Awards for
Excellence luncheon and
ceremony on Sept .27,
along with 14 other state
employees, for his efforts
at overhauling a university
wide mail delivery service.
Walker received the
award in the Customer
Service category.
. In addition to making
the mail service more
accessible, the new system
Walker devised cuts costs
and is environmentally
friendly. UNCG spent less
than $10,000 on it; a com
mercially available alterna
tive would have exceeded
$100,000.
The Governor's Award
for Excellence was created
in 1982 to acknowledge
and express appreciation to
employees for outstanding
accomplishments beyond
the scope of their normal
duties that are a credit to
the person and the state of
North Carolina.
Employees are nomi
nated for the award by their
supervisors and co-work
ers. Recipients are selected
by a committee of their
peers.
Photos from the N.C. Governor's
Office
TaWanna Archia
receives her award
certificate from
Paula Woodhouse,
interim director of
the Office of State
Human Resources,
and School of the
Arts Human
Resources Director
James Lucas.
Robert Walker is
pictured with
Paula Woodhouse,
interim director of
the Office of the
State Human
Resources, and
Charles Maimone,
vice chancellor of
business affairs at
VNC-Greensboro.