Hometown Heroes

Hometown Hero: Emily Sutton

by Jordan Beyle | August 3, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Emily Sutton. Sutton is the executive director and river keeper of the Haw River Assembly, a nonprofit whose mission is to restore and protect the Haw River, Jordan Lake, and the entire...

Hometown Hero: Mike Naglich

by Jordan Beyle | July 27, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Mike Naglich. Naglich is a retired nurse with a long career of heroic efforts around the world and his latest is a trip to Ukraine to deliver supplies for residents in the war zone. He's making...

Hometown Heroes: Todd LoFrese, TJ Laughrey, Andy Olson, and Jim Ray

by Jordan Beyle | July 20, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Heroes, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, are Todd LoFrese, TJ Laughrey, Andy Olson and Jim Ray. They've spent the last few weeks biking across the country to raise awareness and money for the Be Loud Sophie Foundation in Chapel Hill....

Hometown Hero: Jennie Knowlton

by Jordan Beyle | July 13, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Jennie Knowlton. Knowlton is the founder of the Quilt Maker Cafe in Pittsboro. They first launched in 2021 as a mobile restaurant, but they just opened their first permanent location in May. The...

Hometown Hero: Andrew Taylor-Troutman

by Jordan Beyle | July 6, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Andrew Taylor-Troutman. Taylor-Troutman is the author of "Little Big Moments" on Chapelboro.com and the pastor at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church. They've teamed up with a national...

Hometown Hero: Charles DeBose

by Jordan Beyle | June 29, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Charles DeBose. DeBose's work supports not just one nonprofit but many. He serves as the director of operations for the Extraordinary Thrift Store where he does many different things. He also works...

Hometown Hero: Amy Slaughter

by Jordan Beyle | June 22, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Amy Slaughter. Slaughter is a realtor who works with the nonprofit Community Home Trust. Slaughter completes the home buying transaction, making sure the buyers are able to work with their...

Hometown Hero: Mary Lucas

by Jordan Beyle | June 15, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Mary Lucas. Mary Lucas is the founder of Long Leaf Animal Rescue in Hillsborough. After less than a year in operation, Long Leaf already has dozens of volunteers and and foster families rescuing...

Hometown Hero: Melissa Driver Beard

by Jordan Beyle | June 8, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Melissa Driver Beard. Driver Beard is the executive director of the CORA Food Pantry. They have been fighting hunger and food insecurity in Chatham County for years. CORA Food Pantry now has two...

Hometown Hero: Suzanne Tormollen

by Jordan Beyle | June 1, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Suzanne Tormollen. Tormollen is the director of marketing at TABLE, a beloved local nonprofit helping kids with food insecurity in Chapel Hill and Carrboro since 2008. Tormollen has been with...

Hometown Hero: Keith Bagby

by Jordan Beyle | Aug 26, 2024 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Keith Bagby. Bagby is Chair of the Board for Orange Partnership for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth, along with the many other hats he wears around our community, including coach, mentor, guardian, and so...

Hometown Hero: Anson Dorrance

by Jordan Beyle | Aug 20, 2024 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Anson Dorrance. Dorrance, the longtime coach of the UNC Women's Soccer team announced his retirement this week. Dorrance has been a towering figure for UNC for many years with his tremendous success on...

Hometown Hero: Amy Blank Wilson

by Jordan Beyle | Aug 12, 2024 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Dr. Amy Blank Wilson. Wilson works at the UNC School of Social Work who, in collaboration with other UNC schools, started the tiny home village in Chatham County with her co-director, fellow Hometown Hero...

Hometown Hero: Michelle Dunevant

by Jordan Beyle | Aug 5, 2024 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Michelle Dunevant. After a 30 year career in criminal justice, including the last 27 at the Orange County DA, Dunevant is retiring. Dunevant has spent the last 10 years as the administrative assistant at...

Hometown Hero: Leith Rankine

by Jordan Beyle | Jul 29, 2024 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Leith Rankine Rankine is a medical physicist at the UNC Cancer Center and a mentor to students. Rankine's job is to figure out how to target the cancer treatment in a patient's body without harming...

Hometown Hero: Emily Kass

by Jordan Beyle | Jul 22, 2024 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Emily Kass. Kass is the executive director of the Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill. She was instrumental in saving the Chelsea when it was in danger of closing a few years ago. Kass stepped up a few years...

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