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: Kimberly Sanchez

by Jordan Beyle | Jan 5, 2026 | Hometown Heroes, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Kimberly Sanchez. Sanchez is the executive director of Community Home Trust. Community Home Trust is a nonprofit focused on affordable housing in Orange County. They acquire and develop homes and sell...

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....

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