Onslow volunteers, community members honored for their 'significant impacts,' 'passion'

Morgan Starling, The Daily News

April 27, 2022 at 5:03 AM·4 min read

Fabric of Our Community inductee Senator Harry Brown poses with Lightkeeper Youth Award co-winner Rylie Kies.

During an annual awards ceremony, Onslow County volunteers and impactful community members were recognized last week.

The 2022 Golden Rule Lightkeeper Awards and Fabric of Our Community Induction Ceremony took place this past Wednesday to honor those who have made large impacts in Onslow. The awards were part of the United Way's program, Volunteer Onslow, for volunteer recognition, and the Onslow Civic Affairs Committee.

"Enhancing and promoting volunteerism is just one of many resources United Way utilizes to effect change in our community," said President of United Way of Onslow County Raquel Painter. "From the synergy of working together, it’s not just one drop or a trickle of movement; it’s a wave of action, a swell that changes lives through volunteerism."

The United Way’s Community Impact Director and Director of Volunteer Onslow, Shelly Kieweg, presented the lightkeeper awards, beginning with the Youth Award, saying it makes her heart happy to see youth giving back at such an early age.

The winners of the 2022 Youth Award are Rylie Kies, for her work with Relay for Life and United Way of Onslow County’s CHEW program, and Andrew Baughman, for his work with Possumwood Acres Wildlife Sanctuary.

Lightkeeper Youth Award co-winners Riley Kies and Andrew Baughman pose with Raquel Painter, president of United Way.

Kieweg said Rylie volunteered hundreds of hours for Relay for Life serving as the Youth Volunteer Coordinator. She also spent many hours volunteering for the CHEW program to help feed hungry children on the weekends.

"She has also held countless fundraising events and food drives," Kieweg said. "During the COVID pandemic when all volunteer activities were suspended, she started a 'reading with Rylie' program in which she would meet twice weekly on zoom calls with local children and have storytime."

Kieweg said Andrew, the co-winner of the award, spends all his free time at Possumwood Acres, and engages in public speaking at every opportunity, among other things.

"He plans to continue his volunteering with them until they are able to hire him full-time," Kieweg said. "He is encouraged to learn, to attend college, and to reach his goal of becoming a wildlife veterinarian. He encourages other troubled teens to stay focused, work hard on their studies, and graduate high school."

Tybee Brown with United Way of Onslow County was the runner-up for the award.

Volunteering: Richlands church opens '24-hour opportunity' outreach to serve those in need

Other award winners include the Cape Fear Red Cross Youth Club for the Youth Group award, with Onslow Memorial Hospital VolunTEENS as runners-up.

Aktion Club of Topsail won the Adult Group Award, with Onslow Community Outreach Soup Kitchen Volunteers as runner-up.

Marjorie Jones with Onslow Literacy Council won the Education award, and Bonnie Apone won the Adult Individual award, followed by runner-up Verlando Lee Frazier.

Onslow officials and community members gathered together on Wednesday, April 20 for the Fabric of Our Community and Golden Rule Lightkeeper Awards ceremonies.

The Onslow Fabric of Our Community ceremony followed the awards, which President of the Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce Laurette Leagon said is to celebrate the contributions of the community.

The ceremony would go on to induct the sixth group of persons ever inducted.

"The criteria for selection is for there to be an unquestioned contribution to bettering our community through a single action that has an enduring benefit, or a lifetime of work that has demonstrated a pattern of actions that together have contributed to the strengthening of our community," Leagon said. "These members of the recognition group today unquestionably demonstrated this."

Those inducted were presented with a small, stretched piece of fabric that will represent a quilt of many persons whose collective work will inspire other generations into the future.

These include: Senator Harry Brown for his "voice, action, passion and contributions," as well as the late J W Broadhurst for his "educational leadership, his pursuit of knowledge, and his desire to improve an entire community."

The late J W Broadhurst was inducted into the Fabric of Our Community.

Also inducted were Houston Shinal for his "dedication to the story of the Montford Point Marines, and his passion that significantly contributed to the creation of the Montford Point Marines Memorial and the continued work he does to cause others to never forget their sacrifice, as well as Don and Marianne Herring for their "enduring dedication and never-ending passion for those things that make our community great."

"Twenty-eight panels now form our quilt," Leagon said. "They represent 33 people. While the space they cover is small, the impact these people have made to our community is significant, broad, and deep."

For more information on award winners, community members inducted, and their contributions, the ceremony is available to watch on the Jacksonville City Government's YouTube page.

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Onslow community member volunteers honored with awards

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