Deal Construction employees, left to right, Michael Schilling, Landon Deal, Jeffrey Deal (owner) and Demetrius Oates work on the roof of a wing of the old Carver High School. The wing is being renovated to serve as headquarters for the Men of Faith, Integrity and Character and will be dedicated in memory of the late Henrietta Highsmith Williams (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
The nonprofit Men of Faith, Integrity and Character is raising funds and accepting donations for renovating a wing of the old Carver High School to serve as its headquarters. It will be dedicated in memory of the late Henrietta Highsmith Williams as the Henrietta Williams Community Center. At right, Men of FIC members, left to right, Vernon Lee, Al Southerland and Bobby Kornegay watch as Deal Construction employees, left to right, Landon Deal, Jeffrey Deal (owner), Michael Schilling and Demetrius Oates do roof work (Steve Herring|mountolivetribune.com)
This photo of Henrietta Highsmith Williams was taken near her 107th birthday in 2003. Williams was known for supporting education, feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, caring for the sick and shut in and for counseling the troubled. She died in March 2004.
The Men of Faith, Integrity and Character draw inspiration from the life of the late Henrietta Highsmith Williams who spent most of her 107 years in service to her fellow man and community.
Williams was known for supporting education, feeding the hungry, clothing the needy, caring for the sick and shut in and for counseling the troubled.
Her homemade applejacks were famous, and when the need arose, she would sell them to help raise money for her projects.
It is that legacy that inspires the Men of FIC — a legacy that its members want to ensure is preserved as well as the memory of Williams who died in March of 2004.
The nonprofit organization is in the process of renovating a wing of the old Carver High School that will serve as its headquarters as well as the Henrietta Williams Community Center.
An estimated $200,000 is needed to complete the work, and the public has the opportunity to help make the project a reality.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on that building,” said Al Southerland, one of the Men of FIC founders. “So we are going to be having fundraisers, donations, gifts from anywhere and anybody.
“We’re going make that a top-notch facility in honor of her and something that not only she and her family, but the entire community, is going to be proud of. We will not open those doors until that time.”
The goal is to open the facility by the end of this year, however, the doors won’t open until the building is the way the Men of FIC want it to be, Southerland added.
There are plenty of people willing to help if they know it is going to be something long lasting, beneficial to the community and not shabby, he said.
“I want people to understand what we are doing,” he said. “So I don’t care if it is $5 or $5,000 or $50,000 (donations), but that they (donations) can be put into good use right now.”
Donations may be sent to the Men of FIC, P.O. Box 1066, Mount Olive, N.C. 28365.Make sure to note Henrietta Williams Community Center on the check.
A separate bank account has been established for those funds. The donations will not be mixed with the Men of FIC funds or scholarship fund, Southerland stressed.
“We are just going to make it a place where we do the same kind of things she did — help people, especially children, that need food, need clothes, whatever they need, school supplies, everything, teach the young adults how to get and keep a job, fill out applications,” Southerland said.
“We want to make sure that we do a lot of mentoring.”
Another goal is to bring other nonprofits in to help with those efforts, Southerland said.
“A lot of people in Mount Olive do a lot of things, but sometimes I think they fail to coordinate their efforts with other nonprofits,” he explained.
“Sometimes they may duplicate the services, which coming together that we could do better.”
Williams was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2003, but was unable to attend the ceremony that included dedicating a wing of the old Carver School that now houses WAGES in her honor.
That wing also housed a food pantry. When the food pantry moved out, someone took the plaque dedicating the building to Williams over to the building that the Men of FIC is getting, Southerland said.
“And the thought just came to mind, I know what Mrs. Henrietta was about,” he added. “I went and talked to her daughter, Cliffornia Pearsall, and I talked to her grandson, Vincent Pearsall, and they were delighted that we wanted to call it the Henrietta Williams Community Center.”
A new roof was the first phase. Up next will be the ceiling and lights, and then phase three probably will be the windows and flooring.
The interior will be pressure washed and cleaned out before being modeled.
Southerland said he is meeting with people every day trying to figure out what it will cost while trying to get the cost down as much as possible, but still be enough to have a nice, presentable facility.
It is all about having a building that will be for the community, he said.
“Not for the black community; not for the white community; not for the Haitian community; not for the Hispanic community, but for everybody,” Southerland attested. “That is what Mrs. Henrietta was all about and just help them in anyway they can be helped.
“People need help sometimes, but they don’t want to ask for it. But we’re going to be out there searching for people that need help you. People say how are you going to do all that? I cast all my cares upon the Lord. This is His operation. I am just doing the legwork for Him.”
While the building will serve as headquarters for the Men of FIC, other nonprofits that would like to use it can do so, he said.
The wing has two large rooms on each side of a central hallway, the four rooms will be opened up, making two large ones large enough for banquets and a lot of people, Williams added.
Also, businesses that want to talk to the public about their business will be able to do so there as well, he said.
Southerland is hopeful that it will be a place where people will come back and reminisce.
“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “It’s about doing something for the community.”
For more information, call Southerland at 919-394-0198
