Leadership Wayne County class learns about history, agribusiness
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on December 11, 2005 2:04 AM
Members of the 2005-06 Class of Leadership Wayne County have learned about everything from their county's major historical spots to the role agribusiness plays in the local economy since beginning a series of educational sessions in October.
Leadership Wayne County participants will meet once a month from October through April for a series of meetings with local experts and tours around the region to learn more about various aspects of their county. The sessions are part of the graduation requirements for the leadership program.
History Day, the first of the sessions, provided the class participants with an overview of the historical development of Wayne County and introduced the class to the ongoing efforts that are being made to preserve and to build upon the heritage of the city and county.
The day's agenda included walking and ride-by-tours of various local historical sites.
The class began its day with a narrated walking tour of Waynesborough Historical Village and the Cogdell Cemetery. For the remainder of the morning, the class traveled to the New Bern-Raleigh Stagecoach Road; Dillard High School Building; Willowdale Cemetery; the 1862 earthworks, which are located on Claiborne Street; Giddens Well; and the Col. J. Nelson House, which was the site of buggy works during the 1850s. Then, the class had a narrated tour of downtown Goldsboro. The class traveled to the Henry Weil House and to the Hotel Goldsboro, which is now the Waynesborough House, for a behind-the-scenes narrated tour.
At midday, the class was treated to lunch at B&G Grill, which was provided by Julie Thompson, who is the executive director of the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. For the afternoon visits to istorical sites, the class had a guided tour of the F.K. Borden House and a ride-by-tour of the Union Station. The class then traveled to the Goldsboro Battlefield for a narrated tour by Randy Sauls. The day concluded with a tour of the Cherry Hospital Museum and cemetery.
The class also participated in Agri-Business Day Nov. 18.
The class met at the chamber for a briefing prior to departure to the first destination, Mt. Olive Pickle Co., where the class members were greeted by community relations director Lynn Williams and treated to a tour of the facility.
The class then traveled to Case Farms to tour the chicken processing plant. A brief overview of the company was given by human resource manager Willie Cartegena as well as the plant manager. The class was then able to go into the processing plant and view how Case Farms processes chickens.
Next stop was Goldsboro Milling. Upon arrival at Goldsboro Milling, the class was greeted by Tom Yarborough and treated to a barbecue lunch. During lunch, Yarborough gave the group an overview of the many facets of Goldsboro Milling, including the company's on-site research facilities that are part of the study of the prevention of diseases that affect poultry, including avian flu.
The last stop was the Cooperative Extension Agency. Kevin Johnson, a member of this year's leadership class, gave a presentation on agriculture not only in Wayne County, but in the eastern portion of the state.
Leadership Wayne County is sponsored by the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce and the Wayne Charitable Partnership. Corporate sponsors for the 2005-06 program year are AccuCopy, North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union, North Carolina Natural Gas and Wayne Memorial Hospital.
For more information on the program or an application for next year, call the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce at 919-734-2241.