That opportunity came at the chamber's sold out State of Our Community luncheon at Kirkwood Adams.

In a roomful of professionals, Hawkins, the chair of the county school board, went on a narcissistic rant instead of telling the packed house what they deserved to hear — what is really going on within the often maligned school system.

We get what she was doing, but it was a poorly executed attempt at satire when she, one of three designated speakers, stood up and talked about her accomplishments, including earning the title of Miss Halifax Community College, to drive home a point that she is Roanoke Rapids, that she is a part of Halifax County.

(See related editorial)

The audience deserved to hear about test scores. The audience deserved to hear about financial conditions, capital needs and student progress. The audience deserved to hear about what the school system is doing to improve its overall condition.

We are all aware of the standoff between those who support school merger and those who don't. Hawkins did nothing or said nothing to make us want to even consider discussing a full-blown merger.

Stepping on the podium as the face of the Halifax County school system, Hawkins came off as a defensive child, seeking acknowledgement of her past good deeds as a way to ward off punishment for a present bad deed.

Her only accomplishment on the speaker's stand Thursday was to drive a wedge between the school system and those who feel merger is not an acceptable solution at this time.

Hawkins should have taken a lesson from another merger proponent, James Pierce, the first speaker at the event, and chairman of the county board of commissioners.

Pierce, in addressing the setbacks faced and accomplishments the county has made, drove home a valid point on the plight of the county school system — that the county can't see progress until improvements in education are made and we shed ourselves of our us versus them mentality.

Even though there are many who vilify Mr. Pierce on his merger stand, his address Thursday was passionately spoken and made us take note.

Hawkins' speech only made us yearn to find out what is really going on within the county school system and whether there was anything positive at all to report, even something as trivial as reporting how many students made the honor roll. She truly squandered her chance to set the record straight and defend with her all might the school system which she represents — Editor