The Center for Energy Education today recognized five community leaders for their service to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The event featured keynote speaker North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs who discussed her actions toward helping the marginalized and disenfranchised.
The honorees are:
Brenda Few
The president of Women on the Move, Few is a retired Halifax County school administrative assistant who strives to make the Roanoke Valley community a better place for families and children.
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To stay active and connected to those she serves, in 2019 she founded Women on the Move to assist and uplift the community through encouraging volunteerism, creating fundraisers and establishing scholarships.
“She’s a friend to the center because she spearheads efforts that bring success to C4EE’s bigger events and interactions,” the center’s Executive Director Mozine Lowe said.
During last April’s high school clean energy career fair, for instance, a last-minute rainstorm prompted a move to a nearby but off-campus indoor venue.
These helpers were initially tasked with distributing box lunches to hundreds of visiting high school attendees.
When the big rains brought a multitude of unanticipated cancellations by multiple schools, the Women on the Move not only reworked the box lunch counts to give meals to the visiting students, but they also hatched a plan to share the leftover lunches with area organizations and churches, bringing joy and preventing waste.
“A 2020 recipient of this award, C4EE once again recognizes Brenda’s tireless dedication to serving her community,” Lowe said.
Ginny Lewis
The CEO and president of the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce, Lewis settled into Roanoke Rapids in 1993 by way of Murfreesboro and Ahoskie.
During her career she has performed a range of roles, including business owner, insurance professional, information specialist, even mother, grandmother and great grandmother, among others.
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In each, she strives to provide value through connections, advice, assistance and guidance for people and businesses – ultimately her community – so they grow and thrive.
“Ginny’s quest to provide value extends to her organization’s dedication to C4EE as a loyal ambassador who recognizes and promotes renewable energy as a source of rural industry, a place where workforce development can lead to careers that pay sustainable wages,” Lowe said.
Guided by her trusted staff and board, these last five years as chamber leader, she supports and promotes excellence in community initiatives, education partnerships and economic growth impacts.
“Ginny generously showcases Dr. King’s spirit of building, service and advocacy for equality,” Lowe said.
Betty Macon
A lifelong Halifax County resident, Macon, the public health educator for the Halifax County Health Department, demonstrates dedication to community through her work as a healthcare professional for the young and old.
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“A welcome, familiar face at the center, Betty shares her gift of educating health and safety concerns specific to the community and sharing sources of access to services and treatment,” Lowe said. “She is a favorite visiting presenter at C4EE community events, one who creatively and realistically shares important facts about health topics such as the importance of healthy eating and active living, including the dangers of tobacco use and vaping.”
For the center’s school field trips and summer camps, she brings tools and trinkets that provide hands-on, real-world examples to fully explain concepts to students of all ages.
“Her soft-spoken and friendly demeanor regularly holds the attention of those in her care. In fact, center staff find themselves drawn into the classroom for her lessons, knowing they, too, can benefit from her professional experience and wisdom,” Lowe said. “Like Dr. Kng, Betty is a quiet, yet powerful voice for positive social change who advocates that education inspires unity.”
James Mendenhall
The operations director of Deriva Energy, Mendenhall demonstrates Dr. King’s dedication to community service through his work in C4EE’s backyard.
An Eastern North Carolina native and tenured US Navy veteran, he manages the center’s solar farm as well as 20 additional solar sites across NC to Washington.
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Upon retirement from his military service, he transitioned into solar farm construction at a time when renewable energy options related to solar was a blossoming industry.
Realizing solar was a gateway to his future, especially with North Carolina’s solar energy economic opportunity ranking jump from 48th to second place, federal and state incentives led to the establishment of procedures and protocols to ensure proper maintenance of the solar site and surrounding property.
“We at the center appreciate James’s dedication to leading, building and improving our home community – our literal and figurative backyard – to ensure that C4EE can continue to fulfill its mission,” Lowe said.
Kayla Taylor
The community outreach coordinator for ECU Community Health, Taylor is a servant leader “who embodies Dr. King’s call for community service, and one who advocates for what’s right, what’s fair and what does the best for the majority.”
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The Weldon native and daughter of educators, demonstrates her passion for a healthy and active community by sharing her education, experience and talents to make a big impact.
“An advocate for county-wide recreation, especially toward the expansion of recreation activities for children and seniors, Kayla provides technical assistance for grant-writing to secure funding to build and support sustainable outreach opportunities within nonprofit and faith communities,” Lowe said. “Kayla also understands the power of partnerships to strengthen efforts and encourage results, notably through her service on numerous boards and media platforms.”
Lowe said she is a favorite community service partner at the center for not only her regular participation in C4EE events but also her generous donation of fresh fruit treats, usually apples and bananas. “Her focus on healthy eating and active living extends to leading curriculum development for community development, recreation and economic development, demonstrated in the fully functioning civic group Weldon Works and as well as co-facilitation of the Community Voices curriculum.”
Said Lowe of all the recipients: “These individuals give with gusto. We presented their awards in alphabetical order because they’re all equally important to us.”