Staff photo/JACQUELINE L. HOUGH
SPIRIT AWARD WINNER--Virginia Sanderson, vice president of Woodmen of the World Lodge 508, received the Frateral Spirit Award last Thursday at the annual awards banquet. With her is Malcolm Mervin, left, president of the Woodmen, and Les Turner, right, secretary of the Woodmen.
Mount
Olive
Woodmen of the World (WOW) Lodge 508 President Malcolm Mervin said no one ever has to ask Virginia Sanderson for help with activities within the lodge.
“She just does it,” he said.
Ms. Sanderson, vice president of the lodge, received the Fraternal Spirit Award from fellow WOW members last Thursday night during the lodge’s annual awards banquet.
The award recognizes outstanding leadership within the lodge.
National Board of Directors member Daniel “Danny” Rice III of
Kinston
made the presentation to Ms. Sanderson.
“It’s a real special honor to recognize a lady that I have seen at all the activities,” he said.
He added that Ms. Sanderson is very artistic and is involved in many activities.
“She’s a true ambassador for the Woodmen of the World and our community,” Rice said.
Ms. Sanderson said she didn’t know what to say after receiving the award.
“I enjoy working with this lodge,” she said.
Mervin said he is very fortunate because his job is easy as president.
“It’s because of people like that lady who volunteers before I ask,” he said.
Donations were presented to the Mount Olive Emergency Services Inc. ($300), Goldsboro-Wayne Crime Stoppers ($200), the Wayne Shrine Club ($50) and Pricetown, Indian Springs and Pleasant Grove fire departments (all $200).
“We do try to support as many different (agencies),” said Les Turner, secretary. “It’s a great privilege for me to be able to come up here and do this.”
Charles Swinson, captain of the Mount Olive Emergency Services Inc., said the support of the public is what it takes to keep their volunteer organization going.
Rick Sutton of Goldsboro-Wayne Crime Stoppers thanked the WOW for all it has done and continues to do to support Crime Stoppers in the county.
“This kind of support allows Crime Stoppers to continue to do its job in
Wayne
County
,” Sutton said.
There are nine fire departments in the area. Each year the WOW makes a donation to three departments.
Rodney Smith of the Pricetown Fire Department said he appreciated what the Woodmen had done.
Fire Chief Leroy Blizzard of the Indian Springs Fire Department said the donation will “be put to good use”.
“We’ll put it to good use in our training department,” he said.
Jamie Taylor of Pleasant Grove Volunteer Fire and
EMS
accepted the donation for that department.
“With the fuel costs going up, we can definitely use this,” he said.
Charles Davis accepted the donation for the Wayne Shrine Club for the Shrine charities for children.
Davis
said the Shrine Club has sent more than $78,000 from the community and the Shriners to Shrine charities last year.
“I personally thank you for supporting this project that’s very dear to my heart,”
Davis
said.
Mervin credited the work of Davis and Tim Smith, who are the field representatives for Lodge 508, for helping make sure the lodge receives matching funds.
“This means we’re able to put more money in the community,” Mervin said. “And that’s what we’re here for.”
WOW Lodge 508 meets the first and third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. at its building on
Bert Martin Road
in
Mount
Olive
.
Scholarship Committee Chairperson Charles Davis presented four scholarships.
Two were for Lodge 508 member scholarships and two were scholarships funded by the youth lodge.
Recipients were Jonathan Rudy Hill of Eastern Wayne High School at
Goldsboro
, David Brad Rhodes of North Duplin Jr./Sr. High School at Calypso and Emily Jean Martin and
Meredith Lane
Davis
, both of Southern Wayne High School at
Dudley
.
There were several guest seated at the head table that included executives from Woodmen of World.
John Manna, assistant vice president of Fraternal Activities for Woodmen of the World, said when they were driving to
Mount
Olive
, he “Googled”
Mount
Olive
.
“
Mount
Olive
, I can share some neat stories about the
Mount of Olives
,” he said. “I just got back from
Israel
. Then I realized you raised pickles.”
Mark Theisen, executive vice president for fraternal services, said it was an “honor and privilege” to attend the event.
“It was very appropriate for me to start off my tenure as executive vice president here in our number-one state marketing area and in an area where you embody what fraternalism is all about” Theisen said.
Joe Walters, state manager of the North Carolina East Marketing Area for WOW, has worked with the WOW for 30 years.
“I have heard of the
Mount
Olive
lodge since I have been working with the Woodmen,” he said. “It is people like you that have made Woodmen of the World the number-one fraternal life insurance in
North America
.”
Eric Pilson, fraternal coordinator of WOW, congratulated WOW members for being one of 16 lodges out of 72 in eastern
North Carolina
that saw positive gain in membership.
Jim Shaver of Landis, who is on the national board of directors, is the son of Dr. Tom Shaver of
Mount
Olive
, a former member of the National Board of Directors.
Jim Shaver talked about some of the goals that WOW has set for the future.
“We want our towns to be Woodmen towns, he said.
“Wait a minute,
Mount
Olive
is a Woodmen town,” Shaver said.
Another goal of WOW is to have the lodge building used all the time.
“Wait a minute,
Mount
Olive
’s lodge is like that,” he said.
WOW want the field representatives to be active in the community and always helping members.
“Wait a minute,
Mount
Olive
has that,” he said.
And the last goal Shaver said was they “wanted the barbecue to be good.”
“
Mount
Olive
has that,” he said. “When Les Turner called and said we’re barbecuing a hog, I stopped what I was doing and drove 200 miles and here I am.”
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