UMO names Assembly Hall in honor of Hazel Kornegay
By From staff reports
Published in News on February 18, 2015 1:46 PM
Full Size
Submitted photo
The University of Mount Olive has dedicated its Historic Assembly Hall in honor of Hazel Waters Kornegay, third from left. From left are her sisters Sarah Smith and Betty Lou Kornegay; Mrs. Kornegay; sister Nellie Davis; and Hazel Waters Kornegay's youngest son, Michael Kornegay.
MOUNT OLIVE -- Years ago Billy Kornegay walked across the floor in the old Mount Olive High School auditorium to receive his diploma. Sunday afternoon he walked across that same floor to join family, friends and the University of Mount Olive in honoring his mother, Hazel Waters Kornegay.
The university Sunday officially dedicated the newly renovated auditorium, now the Historic Assembly Hall, 207 Wooten St., as the Hazel Waters Kornegay Assembly Hall.
The naming was a result of a recent gift from Mrs. Kornegay's family to the university's Realizing the Dream Securing the Future capital campaign.
"I am delighted that the University of Mount Olive made all of this possible," Mrs. Kornegay said. "My family and I are committed to supporting the University, and I am honored to have the Assembly Hall named after me."
Mrs. Kornegay was born in the White Flash community of Duplin County southeast of Mount Olive. She is one of 10 children, and the oldest daughter, of Robert Glenn and Beulah Puckett Waters. She grew up on the small family farm during the Depression, and graduated from B.F. Grady High School in 1943 in the midst of World War II.
Soon afterward, she married her high school sweetheart, Adolph Kornegay. The marriage lasted for more than 62 years, until his death in 2006.
The Kornegays have four children, Jimmy Kornegay of Edgewater, Md.; Billy Kornegay of Raleigh; Deborah Kornegay of Calypso; and Michael Kornegay of Clayton. They also have nine grandsons and eight great-grandchildren.
The Kornegay family has many ties to the Assembly Hall and to the University of Mount Olive. The Kornegays' two oldest sons, Jimmy and Billy, attended all four years of high school in Mount Olive in what is now the J. William and Marvis E. "Marcy" Byrd Apartment Complex.
They actually received their diplomas in the Assembly Hall, which now bears their mother's name.
Deborah Kornegay attended two years of high school in the facility before it consolidated with other area schools to become Southern Wayne High School at Dudley.
As a young mother in the 1950s, Hazel Waters Kornegay took night classes in bookkeeping and typing at Mount Olive College. A younger sister attended the college for a year.
A grandson of Mrs. Kornegay's graduated from the college in 2007. Also, Deborah Kornegay served as director of health services for many years at the college.
Deborah Kornegay spoke on behalf of the family.
"I find it fitting that the Assembly Hall would be named after Mamma," she said. "She has always upheld the values of family and integrity, and she has always shown endless care to others.
"I hope all of Mamma's values of integrity and kindness can be spread throughout this institution, starting here in this assembly hall. We'd like to thank the University of Mount Olive for providing us with this wonderful opportunity."
Billy Kornegay attended MOC in 1965 and 1966 and currently serves on the Foundation board for the university.
"The Kornegay family is proud of the University of Mount Olive, its mission, and its many contributions to Eastern North Carolina," he said. "The Hazel Waters Kornegay Assembly Hall will provide an appropriate venue for educational and cultural events that will enrich the University as well as the greater community.
"It's a pleasure to help preserve such a historical building for future generations to enjoy and to honor the positive influence our mother and grandmother has had on all of our lives."
"Today marks a beautiful and delightful day to honor Hazel and her family," said Jimmy Williams, UMO vice president for Institutional Advancement. "We are coming together to celebrate a building that has so much history, and the funding made possible by the Dream Campaign to make all of these renovations and advancements possible.
"Thank goodness we were able to save this building and transform it into a venue that will be a tremendous asset to the university, enabling us to not only fulfill our mission to our students but to our entire region as well. We are very grateful to the Kornegay family for helping make this all possible."
In his closing remarks UMO President Dr. Philip P. Kerstetter said the university is helping create a vision for the future, and the Kornegay family's generosity is helping create that vision.
"We are starting to see that everything is possible for our students, and we are committed to the expansion of the fine arts," he said. "The university is aiming to enable, empower, and enrich the fine arts and its students. This Assembly Hall is one of many steps that will make that possible."
An event to honor all donors to the Department of Music Complex, the Hazel Waters Kornegay Assembly Hall, and the J. William and Marvis E. "Marcy" Byrd Apartment Complex will be held in the spring.