^ Published each Thursday in Pembroke, N.C. H 0
"Rnihiitw Communicative Bridxes^7i ? ~
THURSDAY, May 1.200^ i ~~ i
VOLUME 31 NUMBER 18 \ ?|
Kelvin Sampson comes hcwteHie-'Pembroke
Pembroke, NC-Kelvin Sampson
was genuinely pleased to be home
in Pembroke and the University
of North Carolina at Pembroke.
"1 never thought 1 would be a
distinguished speaker," Sampson
told an audience of more than 500
on April 28 at the Givens Performing
Arts Center. "I never thought
I would be distinguished I'm honored."
Sampson, a 1978 graduate an
dead basketball coach at Oklahoma
University, was the final
speaker in UNCP's Distinguished
Speaker Series.
"I take representing Pembroke
and UNCP very seriously," he
said.
Appearing very comfortable on
his home court, Sampson mixed
stories of his family and growing
up in Pembroke with the lessons
he has learned in 26 years as
head coach. And, he offered
inspiration.
"As you grow older, you go
from having heroes to having
people who inspire you," the 46year-old
coach said. "I challenge
everyone in this room to find someone
to inspire you and find a way
to inspire someone else."
Sampson and his teams have
been accused of being overachievers
after building one of the top
programs in the nation without the
benefit of waves of blue-chip players.
"I don't like the word over
achieve. Don't ever tell me my
teams overachieve," he said. "If
you're successful, you've lived up
to your ability level."
We don t want to have great
teams " he said. "We want to have
a great program "
Sampson's team has won three
straight Big 12 Conference tournament
championships and is invited
to the NCAA tournament
every year. But he said he h^
learned more lessons fron^^Rng
than winning. ^
At his first head coaching stop
at Montana ljch, his first two
teams went 5-22 and 4-23.
" Jud Heathecote called me up to
congratulate me to taking Montana
Tech from obscurity to
oblivion," Sampson laughed
Heathecote was the Michigan
State coach who gave the young
college graduate from Pembroke
his first coaching job.
"The first step up the ladder of
success is failure," he said. "It's
nothing to be ashamed of."
Sampson pcrservered at Montana.
and his next stop was in the
PAC 10 at Washington State.
"The toughest job in the PAC
10 is Washington State," hc^aid
"Any team that would hire a 24year-old
Native American as its
coach has to be in bad shape."
Sampson's first team went 1-17
in PAC play.
"We weren't really that bad. We
- just weren't good enough to win,"
he said. "Of all the things that ha\ c
happened to me, that was the
best."
"Mature people know how to
^ .....
handle adversity," Sampson said
"People who can't handle adversity,
blame others "
Sampson said he admires commitment.
unselfishness and teamwork
in his players
"Some kids have a hard time being
team mates," he said. "A very
good player will get you 15 points
and 10 rebounds a night. A great
player will get your 15 points, 10
rebounds and will be your most
popular player, the kind of kid other
players will go to when they're
down."
"Coaching is getting your kids
to understand teamwork, to be
givers," Sampson said. "I don't
like people \yho were bom on third
base and think they hit a triple. IF
your best player is your hardest
worker, it will be hard not to succeed."
"Soft people want things handed
to them," the coach said. "Successful
people compete, not just
play hani"
To the young people of the auI
' ' !
dience, Sampson had this advice:
Kids will you it's tough for
them," he said "You can be anything
you want, but you can't t>e
afraid to fail"
Ordinary people da extraordinary
things," he said.
Sampson answered questions
following the speech/ During the
day, he taped an interview with
WNCP, the university's broadcast
program and spoke with UNCP's
men's basketball team
Three speakers have been
signed up for next yea's distinfuished
Speaker Series, Today
how host Soledad O'Brien, Native
American Olympic champion
Billy Mills and filmmaker Spike
Lee. A fourth speaker will be announced
soon.
For more information bout the
speaker series, contact the Office
of Student Activities at (910) 5216207
or email
abduLghaffar@uncp. edu.
This Article written by Scott
Bigelow of the UNCP Public Relations
Department.
ku. im
Kelvin Sampson
First Baptist Church honors our troops
I
Let's pray for our men and women who are on a dangerous mission. They arefighting a war ofgood
against eviL Pembroke First Baptist thanks them for their bravery.
Recently with much pray the members of First Baptist tied yellow ribbons out front of the church.
There is a young man from that church family in the military conflict, Sgt. Joseph C. Carter (Joe). The
church encourages prayer for him, his wife, Candi, and the children. He is the son of Buddy and
Barbara Carter.
Sgt. Carter's parents, are shown in the center, Theresa Locklear is shown beside the pastor. Rev. Kent
Chavis.
Pembroke Middle School students win
county Battle of the Books competition
Pembroke Middle School won the Robeson County Battle of the Books competition for the second
consecutive year. First place honors for the school for 2003 made is the second consecutive win for
them. Thirteen middle schools competed for the ward. Carrol Middle School was awarded second
place and Magnolia took third place.
Battle of the Books is like a quiz bmvl competition where the students answer questions from 27
different books from the young adult literature. The competition began in 1992 in the public schools
of Robeson County.
The winners shown above will travel to Harnett County to present Robeson County in the regional
competition.
Members of Pembroke Middle School's winning team are Brandi McRae, Rachel Malcolm, Sarah
Oxendine, Nathan Altomore, Rachel Ensing, Chelsea Locklear, Emily Altomore. Coach is the media
coordinator, Lesa Maynor who is assisted by Ruby B. Locklear.
Great job, students! Well done!!!
i? '
Pictured (from left): Cecil Brown, HUD representative, Ronnie Hunt, LREMC, Rev. Ron Sanders,
campus minister, Lorna McNeill, alumni director, Henry Lewis, UNCP trustee, Congressman
Mike Mclntyre, Johnny Hunt, Chairman of County Commissioners, Dr. Roger Brown, Provost and
Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
UNCP's Regional Center Breaks Ground
Pembroke, N.C -" The Regional
renter is an investment for generations
toxomw," jsairl.7lh .District
U.S. Congressman Mike
Mclntyre. "This (grotmdbrcaking)
proves that when we work together,
we can make a difference "
U.S. Rep. Mclntyre said he has
high hopes for the Regional
Center's role in turning around the
sagging economy of Robeson and
surrounding counties. He was the
keynote speaker April 28 at the
groundbreaking ceremony for
UNC Pembroke's new Regional
Center for Economic, Community
and Professional Development.
"The number one issue in our community
is jobs," Mclntyre said
"The number two issue is jobs and
the number three issue is jobs."
The congressman said he is very
confortable at the COMtech business
and education park, where the
new 11,500 square-foot center is
to be constructed. Mclntyre's
great grandfather once farmed
land there, and he cut wood at the
site as a young man. he said.
Mclntyre personally delivered
$950,000 in federal funding for
project Federal funding is ncaring
S3 million for the Regional Center,
university^, resources to address
community issues Representing
UNCP. Provost and Vice Chancellor
for Academic Affairs, Roger
Brown praised COMtech and the
Regional Center as a historic partnership
that will break new ground
for the region's economy. "The
building we arc about to break
ground for already has a special
place in the history and future of
our instution," Dr. Brown said.
"This is the first building we have
ever constructed off campus." "It
is fitting that we break ground here
at COMtech.,which is another
project that owes its existence to
an array of partnerships that are
represented here this morning."
Dr. Brown said. "Forging alliances
and building partnerships is the
only way we will be able to build a
successful community in the new
world we live in today." For
COMtech, it was the third
groundbreaking in the past few
months, Robeson Community College
will build a technology -training
center at the site, and the Public
Schools of Robeson County
has promised a technology mag_ncl
school at the park, located beLumbee
River Electric Membership
Cooperative (LREMC) has
been instrumental in planning and
building the 600-acre COmtech. "I
am pleased to be here welcoming
another founding partner at a
groundbreaking," said Ronnie
Hunt, LREMC's executive director
and chair of COM tech's board
of directors. "We're proud to have
you aboard " THe Robeson
County Board of Commissioners
provide initial funding and support
for COMtcch. "The commissioners
and I long for the day that
this 'field of dreams' is filled with
business and industry." said
Johnny Hunt, county commission
chair There were many representatives
from local governments
and businesses at the site, including
Pembroke Mayor Milton Hunt
and Lumberton Mayor Raymond
Pennington. UNCP trustee Henry
Lewis , a Lumberton businessman,
summed up by saying the
groundbreaking is day one of the
turnaround of the region's
economy.
Woods presents at international
conference on indigenous people
Ruth Dial Woods of Pembroke
was invited to present at the 2003
Transformative Justice Conference:
This Land is Our Land Too!
sponsored by the Birmingham
Civil Rights Institute and partnership
with the Birmingham international
Festival, Birmingham
Pledge Foundation and South
Africa's Institute for Justice and
Reconciliation Presenters at this
conference highlighted the common
concerns liking indigenous
peoples worldwide with other
marginalized communities and explored
the legislative and constitutional
dimensions of land issues.
racism and the highly con'
troversial subject of reparation
The three day conference featured
key addressed by Dr. Molcfi
Kctc Asante of Temple University,
Bishop Tony Burton of the Anglican
Diocese in Saskatchewan.
Congressman Artur Davis. Dr.
Samba Diop of Harvard University.
David Horowitz, author and
lifelong civil rights activist. Kim
Phuc of the Kim Phuc The Foundation.
Juan Williams, Senior Correspondent
for National Public
Radio and a political analyst for
Fox News and other humanists
and civil rights activists. Dr
Woods was invited to share her
research and first-hand experiences
in human rights struggles
and the Civil Rights Movement.
She joined other American Indian
presenters that included Suzan
Haijo, Executive Director of the
Morning Star Institute and former
Executive Di rector of the National
Congress of American Indians.
Dr John C Mohawk, author and
Professor of the Center for the
Americas at State University of
Buffalo's Indigenous Studies program,
Tribal Chairman Eddie
Tullos of the Alabama Poarch
Band of Creeks, and Donald G
Sampson. Executive Director of the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission of the Yakama. Warm
Springs, Umatilla and Nez Perce
American Indian Tribes. The conference
on April 22-24 is part of a
year-long International Festival
Salute to Canada sponsored by
the State of Alabama's Bureau of
Tourism and Travel. Birmingham
government and civic agencies
and organizations, business and
industry partners and public media
entities.