The Sarah Keys Evans Inclusive Arts Project Committee has received the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service.

The committee includes Ophelia Gould Faison, Georgette Brown Kimball, Ervin V. Griffin Sr., Charles E. McCollum, Napoleon Hill who did the murals, Roanoke Rapids Parks and Recreation Director John Simeon, Helen Rosser and David Putney. Putney constructed the plaza which contains a pictorial snapshot painted by Hill of Evans’s ordeal when she was arrested in Roanoke Rapids for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a White Marine. Evans was also a member of the military at the time of her arrest.

Griffin said the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Services was implemented in 2006 to recognize the top 20-25 volunteers in the state. 

The local committee received the award on Wednesday during a virtual ceremony.

Griffin said Halifax Assistant County Manager Christina Wells, who served as the county award coordinator, nominated the committee for the award.  

Only one medallion nomination is permitted per county.   

A statewide panel reviewed and evaluated all the nominations to determine the award recipients.  

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State Representative Michael Wray said, “The Sarah Keys Evans Public Arts Project has honored Mrs. Sarah Keys Evans for her contributions to American history and the civil rights movement. This project not only recognizes the significance of her actions, but also empowers generations to come to stand against injustice.”

Wray said, “Our community is grateful for your contributions to this project.  It is an asset to our community and an opportunity to learn about African American accomplishments throughout history and tolerance and respect for all cultures. I wish you all the best during this well-deserved special time of recognition.”

McCollum said to receive the award was overwhelming. “I am so honored to be among the recipients that the governor has bestowed on all of us. We got so much cooperation from everyone. We were more than elated.”

The work which led to the project began with an application to the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. “I think it’s almost phenomenal the way things came together to expose Sarah to the nation and the world,” McCollum said. “We give credit to those in the limelight. Sarah was not in the limelight. We brought her story alive.”

McCollum said visitation to the plaza, which is located in Martin Luther King Jr. Park at Virginia Avenue and Wyche Street, has been going well. “We have been impressed by the number of visitors. I think the whole community is proud. I think the park will become more meaningful.”

Roanoke Rapids City Councilman Carl Ferebee and city Human Resources Director Christina Caudle made the nomination to the county coordinator, McCollum said.

“All the work that the committee put in to get the Z. Smith Reynolds grant to bring the story of Sarah Evans and the art plaza to our community was important and I find it very rewarding for them that they are being recognized by the governor for their efforts,” Caudle said.

City Manager Kelly Traynham said during Tuesday’s council meeting, “I would like to thank the volunteers who have been named and listed in the creation of the Sarah Keys Evans Public Art Project and commend them for their work and this accomplishment.”