Hometown Heroes

Nominate a Hometown Hero!

Hometown Hero: Danita Mason-Hogans

by Jordan Beyle | August 24, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Danita Mason-Hogans. Mason-Hogans recently took a team of local students across the American south as part of her own nonprofit Bridging the Gap centering on starting conversations based in...

Hometown Heroes: Madeline Blobe and Allison Worthy

by Jordan Beyle | August 17, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Heroes, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, are Madeline Blobe and Allison Worthy. Blobe and Worthy are with the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public School Foundation. Every year since 2008, the Public School Foundation has hosted a teacher supply...

Hometown Hero: Kathy Allee

by Jordan Beyle | August 10, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by the O. Max Gardner Foundation, is Kathy Allee. Allee is a volunteer and parent mentor for Family Reading Partners. She is first in line for every need both big and small, from making treats for weekend getaways to organizing a...

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: Verla Insko

by Staff | Sep 27, 2021 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Verla Insko! She's the longest-serving House Democrat currently in the chamber, and recently announced that she would not be seeking reelection after the conclusion of her current term -- which ends in...

Hometown Hero: Raimee Sorenson

by Staff | Sep 20, 2021 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Raimee Sorenson! Co-founder of Blawesome Farms, Raimee's work with the team at Blawesome brings a little extra good karma to our community. Blawesome is a local flower farm and design studio...

Hometown Hero: Paula Gilland

by Staff | Sep 13, 2021 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Paula Gilland! Gilland is a local business woman, running Purple Bowl and active in Chapel Hill's downtown partnership. She's also a registered nurse who has donated "countless hours," according to...

Hometown Hero: Sally Greene

by Staff | Sep 7, 2021 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Sally Greene -- Orange County Commissioner who was recently recognized as "North Carolina Outstanding County Commissioner of the Year." "Even though Sally Green was representing Orange County, she was...

Hometown Hero: Stanley Vickers

by Staff | Aug 30, 2021 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Stanley Vickers -- who was recently celebrated in the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of CHCCS. In 1961, after a series of legal cases culminating in a victory forcing CHCCS to integrate,...

Hometown Hero: Joal Broun

by Staff | Aug 23, 2021 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Joal Broun -- recent appointee to Orange and Chatham Counties' district court judge position. Governor Roy Cooper appointed Broun, who currently works for the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of...

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