Former RMHS band director to be inducted into Hall of Fame

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This year's inductees include business leaders, a nationally noted novelist, an Olympic athlete, an educator and two musicians.

Along with Sykes, the persons to be inducted are:

• Kemp Davis Battle, a Rocky Mount attorney and a judge, was vice president and director of Rocky Mount Mills. He held numerous offices in local organizations including Carolina Telephone, Rocky Mount Public Schools and Braswell Memorial Library. Battle dedicated many hours to the North Carolina and the National Tuberculosis Associations.
• James Boyd of Rocky Mount joined the U.S. Army after graduating from Booker T. Washington High School. While in the Army, he qualified for the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia, where he won a gold medal as a boxer in the light heavyweight class.
• Samuel Gilliam, a graduate of Shaw University and N.C. Central University, served in education for 40 years in Edgecombe County. He established G.W. Carver High School in 1941 and was its first principal after transferring from Roberson Elementary School. He also served on the Edgecombe County Planning Board and the Nash/Edgecombe Mental Health Board and was active in the Red Cross.
• Rocky Mount native Allan Gurganus studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before serving in the US Navy. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, Gurganus published his first novel, "The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All", in 1989. That book made the New York Times best seller list. The story was made into a television movie and a Broadway play.
• Charles Johnson grew up in Enfield but became a manager then owner of the local radio station WRSV-FM and WEED-AM. He got his start in radio in the 1960's hosting programs on gospel and rhythm and blues to the local audience. Johnson spent more than 40 years in the broadcasting business serving the African American community.
• Jesse Claude Mayo attended Rocky Mount schools before graduating from Duke University. In addition to his long time business interest in the area, he has served as a Nash County commissioner and on the Board of Trustees of N.C. Wesleyan College. He has held membership on numerous boards in his church, in health care agencies as well as the East Carolina Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
• Singer-songwriter Donnie Weaver and his band the O'Kaysions had the number one song in the summer of 1968 with "I'm a Girl Watcher." Weaver and his guitarist Wayne Pittman composed the song. Other songs Weaver wrote include "Too Many Broken Hearts" and "Starvin' for Love."

This is the sixth year that area citizens have been recognized for their achievements. Tickets to the Induction Banquet will go on sale in October from Twin County Pride Board members, at the Rocky Mount Parks and Recreation office, area Chamber offices and the Twin County Museum and Hall of Fame located on the first floor of the Train Depot located in Rocky Mount.

The Museum and Hall of Fame was created to celebrate the accomplishments of our predecessors as foundation for future development, to inspire area young people to strive to excel, to create pride in community and to attract tourists to visit and stay longer in this area, thus creating employment opportunities.

A group of area residents incorporated as Twin County Community Pride in March 2001.

They began fund-raising efforts and worked to increase community awareness in order to recognize area citizens, organizations and events.

The first induction into the Hall of Fame was in November 2004. New members have been inducted each fall since then. Anyone can nominate a past or present resident of the Twin Counties. Inductees are selected from the nominees by an independent selection committee. Nomination forms are available at the museum and online at www.twincountymuseum.com.

Initially, portraits of early inductees were displayed on 'Walls of Fame' that rotated among public places throughout the Twin Counties area. In September 2007, the nonprofit group opened a display area in the Rocky Mount Train Station. Currently, the displays include portraits, stories and mementos of Hall of Fame members plus videos of past Induction Banquets and books about the area.

Eventually the group hopes to display the portraits and other artifacts in a Museum and Hall of Fame building adequate to preserve and display a large and growing collection. The museum would include areas devoted to accomplishments in agriculture, the arts, banking, entrepreneurship, government, literature, military, music, railroad, sports, the textile industry and perhaps the Great Flood of 1999. Individuals or businesses may contribute artifacts that show the history of Edgecombe and Nash counties. These may be photographs, articles, documents or other items.