Vision. Mission. Hope. Community.
Those words get tossed around frequently, but it also takes funding – money – to bring those words to life.
The Boys & Girls Club of North Central North Carolina has served thousands of young people in its almost 10 years of existence. BGCNCNC has the vision to help young people, the mission to provide support to those who need it most. The hope for bright futures and a strong community remain priorities in the five counties that it serves.
And now, some community supporters and benefactors have pledged some substantial amounts of money to help renovate club space in Granville and Vance counties. And BGCNCNC leaders hope to reach a goal of $100,000 by Dec. 31 to be able to start the first phase of a four-part, $5 million renovation of its space in Oxford.
Chief Operations Officer Jacqueline Robinson spoke with John C. Rose on Tuesday’s Town Talk about several recent developments in the cash flow department.
The most recent comes from The Goodwill Foundation, longtime BGCNCNC partners. Robinson said it will give $100,000 to the Granville unit and $50,000 to the Vance unit for club upgrades and safety enhancements.
That donation came about because of two other sizable donations – $25,000 from Strong Arm Baking Co. and $500,000 from Richard and Noel Moore. Richard Moore is a native of Oxford and served as state treasurer from 2001 to 2009.
The downtown Oxford bakery and kitchen was nominated for a Rush Limbaugh Great American Business by a loyal patron. Owners Julia and Thomas Blaine took the opportunity to pay forward the cash prize and challenge others in the community to contribute the other $75,000 to help BGCNCNC reach their Phase 1 goal of $100,000.
Robinson said she and the Blaines attended school together in Oxford. “It’s absolutely priceless,” she said, “for them to be so selfless to (want to) provide great opportunities for young people.”
The initial phase of renovation has a price tag of about $1 million; the Moores’ contribution, matched with an additional $500,000 from the community, will create a games room, multipurpose classroom space and technology upgrades, Robinson said, in addition to collaborative learning space and remote learning stations for the Granville Club.
It sounds like a lot of space is needed to complete the renovations, but space is something that the BGCNCNC has. In 2016, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. donated a 27,000 square foot warehouse to the BGCNCNC. Since then, the cavernous buildings have been reworked to provide adequate space for the administrative offices, as well as an activities space and a space for a makeshift cafeteria and homework spot.
When a team from The Goodwill Foundation visited the Granville Club, toured the facilities and then heard about Strong Arm’s and the Moores’ investment, “they wanted to be a part,” Robinson said, adding that the Goodwill team “have been fierce supporters of our programs here in Granville and Vance counties.”
Robinson has been involved with Boys & Girls Clubs for 17 years, but she wasn’t ever a club member. There wasn’t a club in Granville County for her to join. But she volunteered while she was in college and now she has the chance to have a front-row seat to see the Granville unit grow.
“I was one of the young people that needed a Boys & Girls Club,” she said. “I make it my mission to make sure that children have the chance” to be a part of such a strong organization.
The club helps young people make positive decisions and have positive youth development experiences, she said.
The renovations at the Vance club will be to its upstairs space, and it will provide more technology and make it a place “where teenagers want to go and grow and thrive.”
Both Robinson and Chief Executive Officer Donyell “DJ” Jones joined BGCNCNC during the pandemic, so they haven’t had the opportunity to get out into the community as they would have liked to.
But Robinson said she and Jones used that time in a positive way. “It was a wonderful opportunity for us to create the narrative” that is proving so helpful to share with the community as pandemic restrictions relax.
“I think people in the community are really beginning to see what the clubs can offer,” she said. “It’s amazing to hear people talk about what the Boys & Girls Club means to them.”
Now that the children are back, Robinson said she and the club staffs are eager to continue to enhance programming and create positive experiences for a brighter future. Pre-pandemic numbers showed upwards of 3,000 club members across the five-county area, and Robinson said last year’s 719 is definitely an atypical figure. Right now, she said Granville has served 156 club members and Vance has 149 on the membership list. “We are ready to relieve some of our capacity restraints,” Robinson said, and grow in numbers again.
“We want to go from the best-kept secret in the community to really being a community catalyst for youth development,” Robinson said.
Want to help BGNCNC reach the Strong Arm challenge? Visit www.strongarmbaking.com and click the link to donate.
Donate to www.bgcncnc.com or stop by the administrative offices at 105 West St., Oxford. The mailing address is BGCNCNC, P.O. Box 176, Oxford, NC 27565.
TownTalk: From Tally Ho To Outer Space, James Webb And NASA
/by Laura GabelIn one week, the U.S. is scheduled to launch a new telescope into space and scientists are eager to analyze the information that it will send back to Earth. The project, which bears a $10 billion price tag, also bears the name of a local man who rose to great heights in this nation’s space program.
James Edwin Webb was the son of John Frederick Webb and was born on the family farm near Stem, in the Tally Ho community. When his father became superintendent of Granville schools in the early 20th century, Jim Webb moved to Oxford.
And on Dec. 22, the James Webb space telescope will catapult into space for its monthlong journey to reach its destination. Visit https://webbtelescope.org/ to read more about the telescope and its mission.
On Wednesday’s Town Talk, Mark Pace and Bill Harris discussed Webb’s life and just how he ended up running NASA back in the early 1960’s.
The Webb telescope dwarfs the Hubble in size – it’s four stories tall, Pace said, and its sun shield is the size of a tennis court; Hubble’s is a mere eight feet in diameter. Others have compared the two this way, Pace added: Hubble is a horse and buggy and Webb is a Mercedes.
Join Pace at the Granville County Museum Thursday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. to learn more about Webb’s life, his achievements and just how he got a telescope named after him. Contact the museum at 693.9706 to join virtually.
“He was a pretty big deal for astronomy,” Pace said of Webb and his accomplishments in the space program.
But just how did someone from Granville County end up running NASA?
Pace said Webb, who was known to have a photographic memory, graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1928. But like so many other young people at that time, his life was interrupted by The Great Depression. He had to come back home and help his family, Pace said. He joined the Marine Corps and became a Marine aviator.
Over the course of his career, he became an attorney, worked in private industry and in the office of a congressman from North Carolina. These experiences, along with being in charge of large corporations and government agencies in Washington, D.C., all contributed to Webb being a top candidate to run NASA and help the United States compete in the Space Race.
As Pace noted, the U.S. was scrambling in the late 1950’s with its space program, but Lyndon Johnson told newly elected President John F. Kennedy about this fellow, Jim Webb, who he thought would do a good job at NASA.
“They needed somebody to take control of the situation,” Pace said. Somebody with qualifications and experience. Someone like Webb. He got called to the White House in 1961, and Pace said there’s a photo of Webb with JFK as the president announced his plan to put a man in space.
Apparently, Webb’s wife learned of her husband’s new job on the radio – it was such a whirlwind decision, he didn’t have time to tell her before he accepted.
Webb was a New Deal Democrat, and Pace said he had what it took to get the job done – he could play the Washington insiders game, and he wasn’t shy about making deals or shaking hands to achieve the mission.
“He freely admitted he wasn’t a scientist or an engineer,” Pace said, but he was knowledgeable about aviation and management to keep all the moving parts at NASA to carry out JFK’s promise to land a man on the moon by 1970. .And, in Pace’s opinion, Webb should be known not just as the guy who put a man on the moon, but as the guy who kept NASA on solid footing.
“That’s his real legacy, for me.” Webb was NASA administrator from 1961 to 1968, during which time the U.S. saw Alan Shepard make the first manned space flight and the creation of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Much of the groundwork for the Apollo manned space mission was completed during Webb’s term; Neil Armstrong’s historic moon walk was in July 1969.
When Richard Nixon became president and Webb no longer was in charge at NASA, he worked as a consultant (Webb was also an attorney), and he worked at the Smithsonian Institution – he became head regent there, Pace said. He also wrote a book on management and worked with the National Geographic Society.
He was a low-key kind of a person, Pace noted. “But he really wanted to get the job done.”
Webb died in 1992. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery and his modest tombstone reads “James Webb, public servant.” In 2018, a historic marker was placed on College Street in Oxford to honor the hometown hero. The marker is located in front of C.G. Credle Elementary School.
And if you’ve ever visited the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., you have Webb to thank.
He created it.
Click Play
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-15-21 Noon
/by Bill HarrisClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
Home And Garden Show
/by Bill HarrisOn the Home and Garden Show with Vance Co. Cooperative Ext.
THIS WEEK IN THE GARDEN
Farmers Market Final Day Of The Season Is Saturday
/by Laura GabelSaturday, Dec. 18 is the final day of the season at the Vance Regional Farmers Market, and Market Manager Pat Ayscue invites everyone out for one final walk-through to purchase from area vendors. There will be some freshly gathered collards, cabbage, broccoli and turnip salad for sale, Ayscue said.
The market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In addition to the fresh cool-season greens, customers can shop for jellies, pickles and canned tomatoes and more shelf-stable goods.
The locally produced beef vendors will be there as well, and Ayscue said they have a variety of cuts to choose from and recipes to share.
There also are handcrafted items, including Christmas decorations that have been lovingly created for decking the halls and adding to the holiday spirit.
“Come join us and put a smile on a local farmer’s face,” Ayscue stated.
“I have loved opening the doors early in the morning and seeing the amazing garden that the Master Gardeners put so much time and love into. I give thanks for our farmers and all those who love tending the soil. When I close the doors this Saturday, I will have a heartfelt feeling that it will be some months before I view the garden at sunrise or open the bay door for a farmer, (but) at the same time I am assured there are seasons and spring is coming.”
The regional farmers market will reopen in the spring.
TownTalk: Boys And Girls Club Of North Central NC Plan Granville Club Renovation
/by Bill HarrisVision. Mission. Hope. Community.
Those words get tossed around frequently, but it also takes funding – money – to bring those words to life.
The Boys & Girls Club of North Central North Carolina has served thousands of young people in its almost 10 years of existence. BGCNCNC has the vision to help young people, the mission to provide support to those who need it most. The hope for bright futures and a strong community remain priorities in the five counties that it serves.
And now, some community supporters and benefactors have pledged some substantial amounts of money to help renovate club space in Granville and Vance counties. And BGCNCNC leaders hope to reach a goal of $100,000 by Dec. 31 to be able to start the first phase of a four-part, $5 million renovation of its space in Oxford.
Chief Operations Officer Jacqueline Robinson spoke with John C. Rose on Tuesday’s Town Talk about several recent developments in the cash flow department.
The most recent comes from The Goodwill Foundation, longtime BGCNCNC partners. Robinson said it will give $100,000 to the Granville unit and $50,000 to the Vance unit for club upgrades and safety enhancements.
That donation came about because of two other sizable donations – $25,000 from Strong Arm Baking Co. and $500,000 from Richard and Noel Moore. Richard Moore is a native of Oxford and served as state treasurer from 2001 to 2009.
The downtown Oxford bakery and kitchen was nominated for a Rush Limbaugh Great American Business by a loyal patron. Owners Julia and Thomas Blaine took the opportunity to pay forward the cash prize and challenge others in the community to contribute the other $75,000 to help BGCNCNC reach their Phase 1 goal of $100,000.
Robinson said she and the Blaines attended school together in Oxford. “It’s absolutely priceless,” she said, “for them to be so selfless to (want to) provide great opportunities for young people.”
The initial phase of renovation has a price tag of about $1 million; the Moores’ contribution, matched with an additional $500,000 from the community, will create a games room, multipurpose classroom space and technology upgrades, Robinson said, in addition to collaborative learning space and remote learning stations for the Granville Club.
It sounds like a lot of space is needed to complete the renovations, but space is something that the BGCNCNC has. In 2016, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. donated a 27,000 square foot warehouse to the BGCNCNC. Since then, the cavernous buildings have been reworked to provide adequate space for the administrative offices, as well as an activities space and a space for a makeshift cafeteria and homework spot.
When a team from The Goodwill Foundation visited the Granville Club, toured the facilities and then heard about Strong Arm’s and the Moores’ investment, “they wanted to be a part,” Robinson said, adding that the Goodwill team “have been fierce supporters of our programs here in Granville and Vance counties.”
Robinson has been involved with Boys & Girls Clubs for 17 years, but she wasn’t ever a club member. There wasn’t a club in Granville County for her to join. But she volunteered while she was in college and now she has the chance to have a front-row seat to see the Granville unit grow.
“I was one of the young people that needed a Boys & Girls Club,” she said. “I make it my mission to make sure that children have the chance” to be a part of such a strong organization.
The club helps young people make positive decisions and have positive youth development experiences, she said.
The renovations at the Vance club will be to its upstairs space, and it will provide more technology and make it a place “where teenagers want to go and grow and thrive.”
Both Robinson and Chief Executive Officer Donyell “DJ” Jones joined BGCNCNC during the pandemic, so they haven’t had the opportunity to get out into the community as they would have liked to.
But Robinson said she and Jones used that time in a positive way. “It was a wonderful opportunity for us to create the narrative” that is proving so helpful to share with the community as pandemic restrictions relax.
“I think people in the community are really beginning to see what the clubs can offer,” she said. “It’s amazing to hear people talk about what the Boys & Girls Club means to them.”
Now that the children are back, Robinson said she and the club staffs are eager to continue to enhance programming and create positive experiences for a brighter future. Pre-pandemic numbers showed upwards of 3,000 club members across the five-county area, and Robinson said last year’s 719 is definitely an atypical figure. Right now, she said Granville has served 156 club members and Vance has 149 on the membership list. “We are ready to relieve some of our capacity restraints,” Robinson said, and grow in numbers again.
“We want to go from the best-kept secret in the community to really being a community catalyst for youth development,” Robinson said.
Want to help BGNCNC reach the Strong Arm challenge? Visit www.strongarmbaking.com and click the link to donate.
Donate to www.bgcncnc.com or stop by the administrative offices at 105 West St., Oxford. The mailing address is BGCNCNC, P.O. Box 176, Oxford, NC 27565.
VGCC Scholarship Honors Memory Of Longtime Educator J. Wayne Adcock
/by Laura GabelWayne Adcock was born and raised in Vance County, and Vance County is where he gave so much of his time and energy to make a difference as an educator. His family has honored that lifelong devotion to community and to education by establishing a scholarship in his memory at Vance-Granville Community College.
Wayne Adcock died on Nov. 1, 2020 at the age of 73. His widow, Susan, and son John said he always enjoyed talking with students about their future and encouraging them to further their education. He worked in Vance County Schools from 1969 to 2002. He was superintendent for more than six years, capping off a career as a teacher assistant principal and principal across the district’s schools.
The family issued a statement, saying, “Nothing pleased him more than to see a former student and find out that they had made good choices and gotten an education. He would be so pleased about this scholarship. Wayne knew that financial aid can determine for many students if they are able to continue their education. Helping one person further their education can change a life, and even a family, and Wayne would be pleased to contribute to that effort.”
VGCC students who are Vance County residents will have preference when the scholarship is awarded, according to a press release from the college. Except for his college days, Adcock lived his whole life in Vance County.
“He knew firsthand the value of a good education,” the family said. He graduated from Aycock School in 1965 and it was a scholarship dedicated to children of military veterans that he won that propelled him along his college path. He earned a bachelor’s degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and then came back home to teach school in Henderson. He later earned a master’s degree in Education and Education Specialist degrees from East Carolina University.
“This new scholarship will carry on Wayne Adcock’s legacy of servant leadership, inspiration and caring for students,” said VGCC President Dr. Rachel Desmarais. “We extend our appreciation to the Adcock family for supporting Vance-Granville’s current and future students.”
No doubt Adcock influenced many students in Vance County during his career. He started at Townsville High School as an 8th grade social studies, health and P.E. teacher then headed to Carver Elementary where he taught civics and algebra. From there he went to Nutbush Elementary and then was named assistant principal at E.M. Rollins. He spent five years at L.B. Yancey as principal, then took the helm at Clark Street for a year and Carver for two. He was principal at Henderson Junior High for 10 years, Vance Senior High for close to five years and then was principal at Eaton Johnson Middle from 1994 until he took the job of superintendent in July 1996.
He retired from Vance County Schools Dec. 31, 2002.
Next month, Vance County Schools will hold a ceremony to dedicate the Wayne Adcock Auditorium at the Center for Innovation, located on the campus of the former Henderson Jr. High where he spent about a third of his career as principal.
Adcock was an active member at Carey Baptist Church in Henderson and was actively involved with the Henderson Family YMCA. After his retirement, he served on the boards of the Vance County Public School Foundation and the Vance County Department of Social Services.
VGCC Foundation Executive Director Eddie Ferguson thanked the Adcock family for their generosity, saying, “Wayne Adcock loved his community and the students of Vance County, and we are honored that his loved ones have established a scholarship which will help students for years to come. Empowering students to continue their education is an ideal way to remember a great educator like Wayne.”
The VGCC Foundation (formerly known as the Endowment Fund) has enabled more than 9,700 scholarships to be awarded to students since 1982. Scholarships have been endowed by numerous individuals, industries, businesses, civic groups, churches and the college’s faculty and staff. Tax-deductible donations to the VGCC Foundation have often been used to honor or remember a person, group, business or industry with a lasting gift to education. For more information, call (252) 738-3409.
Cooperative Extension with Paul McKenzie: What Works in the Garden
/by Bill HarrisListen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.
WIZS Radio Local News Audio 12-14-21 Noon
/by Bill HarrisClick Play to Listen. On Air at 8am, 12pm, 5pm M-F
WIZS Radio ~ 100.1FM/1450AM
The Local Skinny! Jobs In Vance
/by Bill HarrisThe H-V Chamber of Commerce and WIZS, Your Community Voice, present Jobs in Vance for December 14, 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 14, 2021
Name of the Company: Select Products Holdings
Jobs Available : Mechanic
Method of Contact: For more information please contact your local NC Works Career Center
Name of the Company: Kerr lake Nursing and Rehad Center
Jobs Available: Certified Nurses and Assistants for all shifts, Restorative Certified Nurse Assistant for day shift, LPN/RN for second and third shifts, Weekend RN Supervisor, Weekend Treatment Nur se . Also accepting applications for an upcoming C.N.A. class
Method of Contact: If interested please call Kristy Binkley at 252-492-7021
Name of the Company: Benchmark Community Bank
Jobs Available: (2) Mortgage loan Officers needed to cover Virginia and Wake Forest markets. The ideal candidate will possess a minimum of 3 years of recent mortgage loan experience.
Method of Contact: To apply please go to website@ https://bcbonline.applicatpro.com/jobs/
Name of the Company: Brewer Cycles
Jobs Available: Set Up Technician – This is a full or part time position. Some experience is necessary and must be mechanically inclined. Must have own tools and be able to lift and/or move 50 ponds. Pay is $13.00 an hour
Method of Contact: Applicants can fill out an application online at brewercyc/es.com or come in and fill out the application in person at 420 Warrenton Rd. in Henderson
Name of the Company: Brewer Cycles
Jobs Available: Parts Department Associate-will work directly with walk-ins and telephone customers to help them with their parts needs. Accept cash and credit card payments for purchases and keep cash register accurate. Make sure merchandise displays are stocked and clean. Work days will be Tuesday- Saturday.
Method of Contact: Applicants can fill out an application online at brewercycles.com or come in and fill out the application in person at 420 Warrenton Rd. in Henderson
Name of the Company: Vance County Social Services
Jobs Available: Multiple positions open
Method of Contact: Please go to county website at www.vancecounty.orq for more information
Name of the Company: Vance County Sheriff’s Department is urgently hiring
Jobs Available: Deputies, Investigator, School Resource Officers, Office Administrative Assistant and Detention Officers
Method of Contact: For more information please contact the Sheriff’s office at 252-738-2200 or go by the office in person at 156 Church Street Suite 004, Henderson
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.
Cooperative Extension with Wayne Rowland: Living Christmas Trees
/by Bill HarrisListen live at 100.1 FM / 1450 AM / or on the live stream at WIZS.com at 11:50 a.m. Mon, Tues & Thurs.