Banquet celebrates community heroes
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on March 18, 2018 3:05 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
People gather for the 44th annual Human Relations Banquet Friday night at Goldsboro Events Center. Awards were given out to students who participated in the poster and essay contest and in addition to individual, civic organization and business and industry awards for progressive human relations.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
First grader at Grantham Elementary School Chloe Noelle Thomas performs a solo during the 44th annual Human Relations Banquet Friday night.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
The Blue Notes, Eastern Wayne High School's jazz band, plays during the entertainment portion of the 44th annual Human Relations Banquet at Goldsboro Events Center Friday night.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Pictured are award winners present at the Human Relations Banquet Friday night. Pictured, from left back row, Savannah Odom, third place grade 5-6 poster; Jim Harry, representing civic organization award winner Clergy Living in Faith and Fellowship; Kriquette Davis, individual award winner; and S'Navah Clark, second place grade 5-6 poster; from left, front row, Hayleigh Cape, third place K-2 poster; Anna Westbrook, third place grades 3-4 poster; and Jonson Felipe-Lorenzo, first place grade 3-4 poster.
People across the Goldsboro/Wayne County community are constantly working to make their home a better place, and nowhere was that more evident than the 44th annual Human Relations Award Banquet at the Goldsboro Events Center Friday night.
The banquet is designed to celebrate those who work to make a difference in their community, said Shycole Simpson-Carter, community relations director.
"The purpose of this banquet is to put a spotlight on those unsung heroes who are out there in the community helping us build better human relations among all diverse backgrounds," she said. "They help us strengthen those bonds that we have so that we can move further together."
Grantham Elementary first-grader Chloe Noelle Thomas performed a rendition of the song, "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston and Eastern Wayne High School's jazz ensemble -- The Blue Notes -- livened up the crowd with selections from Michael Jackson and James Brown.
After the music faded, the award recipients were announced. Students who won awards for posters or essays which "support the values of unity in diversity and inclusiveness to bring our community together" were recognized.
There were three other award recipients for the night.
Kriquette Davis, vice president of operations at the Goldsboro Family YMCA, received the Individual Award. The Individual Award recognizes who has gone above and beyond the call of duty, using their work to promote better human relations in the city and county.
Davis was chosen for this award because of her "contributions to social, racial and economic fairness, and to enhance the dignity of all people."
The Civic Organization Award went to Clergy Living in Faith and Fellowship.
The Civic Organization Award recognizes a community group that has shown to strengthen connections locally among the community through inclusion, equal opportunity and fair and respectable interactions for residents in the city and county.
CLIFF earned the award through being an intentionally all-inclusive, interracial group of clergy from all over the county, Simpson-Carter said, with its purpose to speak a "clear Christian voice from the community clergy into events and situations that may occur" and to provide "stability and unity" to the people it serves.
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee was honored with the Business and Industry of the Year Award.
The Business and Industry Award recognizes a business/industry that has provided a significant contribution to creating an inclusive community through policies, procedures and initiatives.
Though no representative of FLOC was there to accept the award, a member of the Mayor's Youth Council thanked the group for helping make the community better.
FLOC, located in Dudley, advocates for migrant workers to have a voice in the community and is actively involved in organizing social movements that address the needs of the Latino community.
Simpson-Carter thanked everyone for their contributions to the community, and bid them all goodnight after the awards were announced.
As she turned to step away from the podium, however, Goldsboro City Councilman David Ham stepped up unexpectedly and put his arm around her shoulder.
"This is one of my most favorite employees," he said with a smile. "This lady works every day to make this community better, to make the relationships amongst our residents improve, and those who know her know what I'm talking about. For those of you who do not know her, she is a genuine asset."
A teary-eyed Simpson-Carter thanked Ham, and surprised the crowd by telling them that the ceremony, after being rescheduled from February, was now taking place two years to the day after the death of her brother. She had not even intended on coming to work that day, she said, but decided to pick herself up and power through what she said was a difficult day.
"Two years ago I fought to save my brother, who died of an asthma attack at this very time of the day," she said. "So to be here and to represent the City of Goldsboro, and breathe the breath of him, it means a lot to me."
The standing ovation that followed was the loudest of the night.
For posters in grades K-2:
* First place -- Ava Batchelor, first grader at Northwest Elementary.
* Second place -- Kendall Blalock, second grader at Northwest Elementary.
* Third Place -- Hayleigh Cape, first grader at Northeast Elementary.
For posters in grades 3 and 4:
* First place -- Jonson Felipe-Lorenzo, fourth grader at Spring Creek Elementary.
* Second place -- Ziniya Lewis, third grader at Carver Heights Elementary.
* Third place -- Anna Westbrook, fourth grader at Grantham Elementary.
For posters in grades 5 and 6:
* First place -- Selma Foery, sixth grader at Norwayne Middle.
* Second place -- S'Navah Clark, sixth grader at Greenwood Middle.
* Third place -- Savannah Odom, fifth grader at Northwest Elementary.
For essays in grades 10-12:
* First place -- Travis Harper Dusseault, tenth grader at Spring Creek High School.
* Second place -- Katherine Ayala, tenth grader at Spring Creek High School.