Hometown Heroes

Nominate a Hometown Hero!

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: Ivette Mercado

by Jordan Beyle | March 23, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Ivette Mercado. Mercado is a full time administrator at Glenwood Elementary School and for the last 23 years she has run the after school program at Dobbins Hill Community Center, helping hundreds of kids...

Hometown Hero: Pat Richardson

by Jordan Beyle | March 16, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Pat Richardson. Richardson is the founder of the Monet Richardson Community Foundation. The MRCF is named after Pat's daughter Krissy, a hometown hero in her own right, who launched a program with the...

Hometown Hero: Carol Chandler and Cindi Ebert

by Jordan Beyle | March 9, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Heroes, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, are Carol Chandler and Cindi Ebert. Chandler and Ebert were both recently recognized with Chatham County's 6 Over 60 Award, honoring older adults who make their community a better place. They've both spent...

Hometown Hero: Nataliia Bondarenko

by Jordan Beyle | March 2, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Nataliia Bondarenko. Bondarenko is the outreach coordinator for the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies at UNC. She came here after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. In her role at...

Hometown Hero: Freddie Kiger

by Jordan Beyle | Dec 22, 2025 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Freddie Kiger. Kiger is a history teacher, statistician, East Chapel Hill Rotary member who was just honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. He had a constant passion for teaching his students and...

Hometown Hero: Joseph Shores

by Jordan Beyle | Dec 15, 2025 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Joseph Shores. Shores is a first year student at UNC who co-developed an AI model with a focus on environmental sustainability. AI is generating a lot of concerns, including the amount of energy it uses...

Hometown Hero: Jennifer Hutton

by Jordan Beyle | Dec 8, 2025 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Jennifer Hutton. Hutton is an interior designer who moved to the Triangle five years ago to help launch a studio in partnership with Grau Building Company. But that's just her day job as Hutton also...

Hometown Hero: Lauren Lorentz de Haas

by Jordan Beyle | Dec 1, 2025 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Lauren Lorentz de Haas. Lorentz de Haas is the founder and director of Triangle Youth Ballet. The Triangle Youth Ballet always has a busy schedule, but never more busy than now, gearing up for their...

Hometown Hero: Katisha Paige

by Jordan Beyle | Nov 24, 2025 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Katisha Paige. Paige is the director of development for TABLE. TABLE works to provide healthy food and fresh produce for our neighbors in need. Every week, they provide to 1100 kids in our community....

Hometown Hero: Nabarun Dasgupta

by Jordan Beyle | Nov 17, 2025 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Nabarun Dasgupta. Dasgupta is an epidemiologist who heads up UNC's opioid data lab. They help people with substance use by giving them information about what substances they're actually using by analyzing...

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