Gospel sing to raise funds for Wayne County Crime Stoppers
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on August 24, 2017 5:50 AM
Wayne County Crime Stoppers will host a gospel singing night Friday at 7 p.m. to raise money for the organization.
There is no charge to attend the event at St. Paul United Methodist Church at 204 E. Chestnut St., but a "love offering" will be collected.
There will be three singing groups to perform during the night.
Legacy, a southern gospel group; the Twilight Singers; and the St. Paul United Methodist Church Quartet will take the stage to serenade those who attend.
The Rev. Jim Harry of the church where the event is being hosted will be the master of ceremonies for the evening.
The entire night is in memory of the late judge Tim Finan.
Finan died suddenly on June 30, 2015.
A former attorney for the city of Goldsboro, Finan was appointed to the bench in February 2007 by Gov. Mike Easley.
His sudden death shocked many in the community, and events such as the gospel night have been organized in his honor since his passing.
Finan began his legal career during his four years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force as a prosecutor and defense counsel. He continued to serve in the Air Force for another 24 years as a reservist. During that time, he served as an instructor teaching trial advocacy to Air Force prosecutors and defense lawyers and as a legal adviser for administrative discharge board proceedings.
Finan received the Legion of Merit and was twice recognized as the outstanding reserve judge advocate in the 9th Air Force before retiring with the rank of colonel.
In the local community, Finan served as chairman of the Wayne County chapter of the American Red Cross, past president of the Goldsboro Rotary Club, a member of the board of directors of the Wayne County Mental Health Board and a volunteer Guardian ad litem.
While the event is in Finan's honor, proceeds from the event Friday night in his honor will go to Crime Stoppers of Wayne County.
Crime Stoppers is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization funded solely by private donations, such as the ones that will be collected from this event.
Sgt. Jason Adams with the Goldsboro Police Department said the donations collected from the event will go toward paying cash rewards to people who give Crime Stoppers tips on crimes that lead to felony arrests.
"When someone calls and references any type of felony crime, and they're eligible for a cash reward based on a tip leading to a felony arrest for that crime, and it was their tip, everything from this fundraiser goes toward those people to pay for that cash reward," Adams said.
Anyone wishing to donate to the organization who cannot attend Friday night's event can send donations to P.O. Box 1116 Goldsboro, North Carolina, 27533.