H-V Chamber Logo

Henderson-Vance Chamber Banquet Set For Jan. 27, 2022

The Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual meeting and banquet in January 2022, during which time the Vance County Citizen of the Year will be announced.

The meeting and dinner will be held on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022 at the Vance-Granville Community College civic center, according to information from Chamber President Michele Burgess.

Current board chairman Dr. Levy Brown will recap the year’s successes and incoming board chair Ronald Bennett will announce member benefits and program initiatives for the new year.

Burgess said invitations are forthcoming, so check your email inboxes for those as well as for sponsorship opportunities for the banquet.

A video is being produced to spotlight community pride in Henderson and Vance County which will feature interviews with local business leaders discussing the benefits Chamber membership provides.

“If you or your business has seen a direct benefit from your chamber membership, please email us a short statement that we can share or if you would be willing to be interviewed for our video about why you belong to our Chamber,” Burgess stated. Email comments for the video to michele@hendersonvance.org.

Nominations for the citizen of the year award are due before Jan. 6, 2022. Request a nomination form and guidelines from the Chamber at 252.438.8414 and return it via email to Burgess or mail a paper copy to the Chamber, P.O. Box 1302, Henderson, NC 27536.

This annual award honors a member of the community for outstanding service and long commitment to Vance County and Henderson.

Granville Chamber Banquet Set For Jan. 24, 2022

 

The Granville County Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual membership meeting a nd banquet on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022 at the Vance-Granville Community College civic center. The organization is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, and has as its guest speaker North Carolina native and basketball legend Phil Ford, according to Chamber Executive Director Lauren Roberson.

Ford played for UNC-Chapel Hill and was named National Player of the Year, First-Team All-America, and ACC Player of the Year. He also helped the US team bring home the gold in the 1976 Olympics under coach Dean Smith.

The John Penn Citizen of the Year award winner also will be announced at the banquet. Nominations are due to the Chamber office by Jan. 4, 2022. Contact the Chamber at 919.693.6125 for more information or to get a nomination form.

The dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 each; seating is limited at the VGCC civic center to observe COVID-19 social distancing protocols. An RSVP is requested by Jan. 12, 2022.

Sponsors for the banquet include:
Presenting Sponsor: Spectrum Medical Solutions
Gold Sponsors:
Certainteed
Duke Energy
Granville Health System
Hicks & Koinis, PLLC
Silver Sponsor:
Oxford Preparatory school
Bronze Sponsors:
Rogers Property Group
Union Bank-Oxford
Wake Electric Membership Corporation

The Local Skinny! Home And Garden Show 12-8-21

On the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.

  • Review your garden journal before ordering more seed of a variety of that you planted last year
  • Continue planting.
  • Buy local for gardeners on your gift list
  • Lightly prune roses
  • Statewide burning ban is still in affect according to NCFS
  • Consider building a small greenhouse or cold frame for seed starting.
  • Shop local nurseries for Holiday Plants
  • Tear out oversized or poorly performing shrubs.
  • Check water under your christmas tree each day

Click Play

 

 

Vance County High School

SportsTalk: Aniyah Miller Breaking the Glass Ceiling at Vance Co. High School

There’s a Brad Paisley song called The Last Time for Everything. He’s singing about the last high school football game and the last dance. Perhaps he should write a song about the first time for everything. Aniyah Miller might be able to help him with that. Miller is the first varsity female wrestler in the history of Vance Co. High School. Because of this achievement, she was named WIZS Female Player of the Week by Trey Snide host of SportsTalk on WIZS.

Miller was a guest on today’s show and said that as a child she was rough as a kid which led her into wrestling at the middle school level. At first, she didn’t want to be involved in the wrestling program at the high school level but had a change of heart.

When asked about what it’s like to wrestle men during matches she said, “At first men try not to be so touchy but by round 2 they get rough.”  She said wrestling is a great sport but the practice and learning the moves can be hard. “It’s not about who’s stronger,” Miller added.

Vance Co. High School Athletic Director Joe Sharrow said “We’re really excited that she’s a part of the team. She represents the school well.”  Sharrow also commented that Miller is breaking the glass ceiling for female athletes at Vance Co. High School.

 

The Local Skinny! Jobs In Vance

The H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for December 7, 2021. The Chamber compiles the information, and it is presented here and on the radio. Contact the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce at 438-8414 or email christa@hendersonvance.org to be included.

 

JOB OPENINGS IN VANCE COUNTY – Week of December 7, 2021

 

Name of the Company: Turning Point CDC  

Jobs Available: Executive Assistant – will primarily support the Executive Director with daily administrative tasks. This is a part-time position located in Henderson

Method of Contact:   Applicants can apply via website at https:www.turningpointcdc.org or call 252-621-5190 with questions

 

Name of the Company: Turning Point CDC  

Jobs Available:  Instructional Assistant – should have experience with educational settings, tutoring/academic support and youth development. Will work closely with the Director of Educational Programs, Site Supervisor, parents and community partners. This is a part-time position located in Henderson

Method of Contact: Applicants can apply via website at https:www.turningpointcdc.org or call 252-621-5190 with questions

 

Name of the Company: Turning Point CDC

Jobs Available:  Academic Coach – will support students in areas they are finding difficulties. Will provide individual and/or group tutoring to students across a broad range of grade levels based on personal area of expertise. This position is a part-time position located in Henderson

Method of Contact:  Applicants can apply via website at https:www.turningpointcdc.org or call 252-621-5190 with questions

 

Name of the Company:  Turning Point CDC

Jobs Available:   Bus Driver – will assist with the transportation of the Creating Success Mobile Learning Lab for events and traveling the community. Very flexible hours. Must have a CDL and valid driver’s license. This is a part-time position located in Henderson

Method of Contact: Applicants can apply via website at https:www.turningpointcdc.org or call 252-621-5190

 

Name of the Company: Select Products Holdings

Jobs Available: Mechanic

Method of Contact:   Please contact your local NC Works Career Center for more information

 

Name of the Company:  Hollander Sleep Products

Jobs Available:   Lift Truck Operator and Packer

Method of Contact: Please contact your local NC Works Career Center for more information

 

Name of the Company: City of Henderson

Jobs Available: Recreation and Parks Facilities Supervisor

Method of Contact:  Please contact your local NC Works Career Center for more information

 

Name of the Company:  Vance County

Jobs Available:  Income Maintenance Caseworker

Method of Contact:  Please contact your local NC Works Career Center for more information

 

Name of the Company: Vance Co. Sheriff’s Office

Jobs Available: Six deputies and eleven detention officers are currently needed.  Benefits include health insurance, dentral insurance, vision exam, life insurance, holiday pay, vacation leave, sick leave, approved overtime.

Method of  contact: To apply, visit www.vancecountysheriff.org or call 252-738-2200 for more information.

 

Some of these businesses are present or past advertisers of WIZS.  Being an ad client is not a condition of being listed or broadcast.  This is not a paid ad.

 

TownTalk: Local Sports Legend Eddie Hicks On Life, Football And Helping Youth

 

If it weren’t for folks who cared about a youngster growing up in Flint Hill all those years ago,  Eddie Hicks’s future could have turned out quite differently.

That’s why Hicks does what he does to advocate for young people – he knows what it means to have someone on your side, whether it’s someone who gives you a place to stay when you need one, or whether it’s someone who offered you a part-time job at the local rec department. Hicks knows. And he remembers.

Hicks has a long relationship with the Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks department – he’s closing in on five decades, in fact. “And I still love doing what I do,” he explained to John C. Rose on Tuesday’s Town Talk. Hicks recalled the days when, as a teenager, he and others helped keep the grounds cleared and mowed for the department. Fox Pond Park has a special place in his heart, because it’s where he did all his athletic training.

And now, the name of Edward James Hicks will be a permanent fixture at Fox Pond Park. HVRPD Director Kendrick Vann recently proposed to city officials that a picnic shelter be named in honor of Hicks.

“It really means everything to me – it really does,” Hicks said. “It brought tears to my eyes.”

He worked for parks and rec any time he came home, Hicks said. “A job was always there for me,” he said, noting the strong role then-director Ralph Peace played in his growing up.

Hicks’s father died right before Hicks was scheduled to head off to college, but both his parents had instilled in him values that helped carry him through tough times. He said football coaches Lonnie Davis and Tony Oakes helped him tremendously.

And then there was Hamlet Wilkerson, who opened his home to a teenaged Hicks and took him in. Hicks, and his brothers – he’s the youngest of three – got along fine outside the house, but not when they were all under the same roof. Wilkerson was a teacher at Hicks’s middle school and, although he has passed away, Hicks maintains close ties with the Wilkerson family.

“It takes a village to raise kids (in) this day and time,” Hicks said. Were it not for coaches and teachers and the values that his parents taught him, he said his life could have turned out very differently.

“I couldn’t have been successful (without them). wouldn’t be who I am right now if it were for (those) folks,” he said. There were so many people who loved Eddie Hicks back then, he said. “And I appreciate it.”

Those people who had a major impact on back then continue to influence Hicks today. His work with Melissa Elliott’s Gang Free organization is just one way he can give back to a community – his community – in need.

“So many folks have looked after me. And the Bible says pay it back ten times more,” he said.

For Hicks, football was a ticket to a brighter future. He played for legendary ECU Coach Pat Dye, who originally recruited him as a tight end. But Hicks was moved to running back, and that’s where he made his mark. There was one remarkable game against UNC, Hicks recalled. ECU was probably a 30-point underdog headed into Chapel Hill in 1975 to face the likes of #56 Lawrence Taylor.  That 68-yard touchdown run that the freshman Hicks made was the start of a stellar career with the Pirates. It was a time #28 won’t soon forget. His three touchdowns in Chapel Hill propelled ECU to their first-ever win over the Tar Heels.

As Hicks recalled those glory days on the playing field, however, he cautioned young people just starting out in a sport – or any endeavor.

There’s no replacement for practice, hard work and paying your dues, he said. “If you don’t perform, you’re not going to play.”

Hard work and dedication on the playing field transfer to other areas, he said. The first priority is God, he said. “God’s gotta be first,” he said. Respecting parents comes next. “It really bothers me when kids don’t listen to their mama and daddy,” he said.

Today’s high school athletes have to keep their grades up in order to play their sports, and Hicks is all for that. “School didn’t excite me,” he acknowledged, and he had to keep an eye on schoolwork during the week so he could play on Fridays.

That effort got him to ECU, where he rushed for more than 2,100 yards during his four-year career. He still holds the school record for the longest rushing play – 95 yards. He was inducted into the ECU Hall of Fame in 2014.

ECU wasn’t a powerhouse football school in the late ‘70s, but Hicks wouldn’t trade his time there for anything. “If you want the opportunity to do great things, go to a small school and make a difference,” he said.

Hicks made a difference on the football field, and he continues to make a difference in his community.

As for his beloved Fox Pond, he said it looks better now than ever. People come out to enjoy the amenities, from tennis courts to fishing in the pond. Hicks said he still plays a little tennis himself, and he enjoys walking in the park.

“Mr. Vann has a good vision,” Hicks said. “He wants everything first class. We’re going in the right direction for Fox Pond Park to be bigger and better.”

 

Click Play for audio interview.

 

Dr. Shauna Guthrie

Guthrie Installed as President-Elect NCAFP

A local doctor — Dr. Shauna Guthrie, a Henderson family physician — was installed as President-Elect of the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP) for a one-year term during the organization’s annual meeting in Asheville this weekend.

Guthrie presently is the medical director at Granville Vance Public Health, the local district health department where she also provides full scope outpatient primary care services. She is also owner of Sunflower Direct Primary Care in Henderson.

She has been on the board of the NCAFP for the past six years and this year served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the NCAFP Executive Committee.

More than 500 family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students attended the NCAFP’s Annual Meeting.

This information was provided to WIZS from Henderson resident Greg Griggs, Executive Vice President of NCAFP.

Cook’s Chapel Food Distribution Fri, Dec 10

Cook’s Chapel AME Zion Church — From Rev. Dr. Omega T. Perry, Pastor

There will be a food distribution on Friday, December 10th at 11:30 a.m.

The church is located at 200 Center Street in Henderson.

This will be on a first come, first served basis.

If anyone would like to send a monetary donation, make your check or money order payable to Cook’s Chapel AME Zion Church and send to PO Box 1056, Henderson NC 27536.

If you have a public service announcement, you can click on PSAs in the top navigation bar and fill out a short form or email johncharles@wizs.com.