Duplin Hall of Fame nominations available
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on June 4, 2008 1:45 PM
KENANSVILLE -- Nomination applications for the 2008 Duplin County Hall of Fame Award and advance reservations for the Nov. 6 awards banquet are available and may be obtained by contacting a Hall of Fame board member.
Each year the Duplin County Hall of Fame honors the lifelong contributions of two Duplin County residents and inducts them into the Hall of Fame at its annual banquet in the Jester's Court at the Country Squire in Kenansville.
One award is presented in honor of a living person and another in memory of a deceased person.
Ticket sales for the banquet begin in October, but because of new fire regulations have reduced seating in the Jester's Court to 160 this year, down from 200 seats two years ago, advance reservations are recommended.
Last year's Hall of Fame Award for a living recipient went to former NASA astronaut William Edgar Thornton, M.D.
Thornton was born in Faison where he attended elementary and secondary schools. During his career with NASA as a scientist-astronaut, Thornton flew two missions into space and served as physician to many others.
His scientific work, inventions, and discoveries concentrated on the space adaptation syndrome.
The 2007 Duplin Hall of Fame Award for a deceased recipient was presented in memory of Revolutionary War hero General James Kenan.
During the Revolutionary War, Kenan was appointed brigadier general for the Wilmington district after he led the Duplin Militia during the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, the Battle of Rockfish Creek and along the Pee Dee River in South Carolina.
He also served in the colonial assembly, the Provisional Congress, and later in the state Senate and the state Constitutional Convention. He contributed to education and served as one of the original trustees who established the University of North Carolina and as one of the original trustees of Grove Academy in Kenansville.
Duplin County Hall of Fame board members are Kristine M. Bryant (secretary), Island Creek; Alice P. Carlton, Limestone; Inga C. Flake, Faison; Anne B. Houston (president), Kenansville; Marilynn K. Hroza, Glisson; Kenneth D. Kennedy, Cypress Creek; Anna Rae Murray, Rose Hill; Sharon H. Patterson (vice president), Albertson; Sandra Pope-Rollins, Warsaw; Rodney M. Scott (historian), Smith; Brenda B. Sheffield, Magnolia; Linda G. Smith, Wolfscrape; Johnny H. Williams (treasurer), Rockfish; Anne S. Taylor (executive director), Faison.