Hometown Heroes

Hometown Hero: Ivette Mercado

by Jordan Beyle | March 23, 2026 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, 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 Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, 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 Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, 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 Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, 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: Paul Slack

by Jordan Beyle | February 23, 2026 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Paul Slack. Slack is the chief civil rights officer for Orange County. He and his team make sure all county services are equally open and accessible for everyone and that everyone in Orange County knows...

Hometown Hero: Christy Jones

by Jordan Beyle | February 17, 2026 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Christy Jones. Jones is a member of the East Chapel Hill rotary club and Christ United Methodist Church in Southern Village. She recently brought both groups together for a meal packing event last month...

Hometown Hero: Caroline White

by Jordan Beyle | February 9, 2026 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Caroline White. White is a senior at UNC and the president of Solar Equity, a student run nonprofit that's been around for four years. Solar Equity gives solar energy access to others who might not...

Hometown Hero: Sheryl Zimmerman

by Jordan Beyle | February 2, 2026 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Sheryl Zimmerman. Zimmerman is a distinguished professor at UNC whose work is directly and indirectly helping millions of people nationwide with the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living. The center...

Hometown Hero: Kirby Saunders

by Jordan Beyle | January 26, 2026 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Kirby Saunders. Saunders is Orange County's Emergency Services Director. He and his team are responsible for coordinating the local response to winter storm Fern. That effort includes setting up locations...

Hometown Hero: Joseph Megel

by Jordan Beyle | January 19, 2026 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, Town Square | 0 Comments

This week's Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint, is Joseph Megel. After 22 years teaching in UNC's department of communication, Megel is headed into retirement. He's been a beloved teacher for many UNC students, but he's best known for the Process Series,...

John Bates: Hometown Hero

by Staff | Mar 16, 2016 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint | 0 Comments

John Bates is Wednesday's Hometown Hero. John recently retired after 30+ years as a mail carrier for the Chapel Hill Post Office. He always delivered with a smile. He cared about all of his customers and always had time for a kind word. When somebody thanks him for...

Betty Matteson: Hometown Hero

by Staff | Mar 15, 2016 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint | 0 Comments

Betty Matteson is Tuesday's Hometown Hero. According to Cindy Clark from the UNC Wellness Center, Betty is the heartbeat of cardiac rehab. Betty works largely behind the scenes, but the staff at UNC Wellness Center relies on her hard work and skills. She plans to...

Ed Teryakian: Hometown Hero

by Staff | Mar 14, 2016 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint | 0 Comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Jerry Passmore: Hometown Hero

by Staff | Mar 11, 2016 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint | 0 Comments

Jerry Passmore is Friday's Hometown Hero. For decades, he was the director of the Orange County Department on Aging. Recently, the Central Orange Senior Center was re-named in his honor. "I'm just pleased and humbled by this experience," Passmore tells Ron Stutts....

Flicka Bateman: Hometown Hero

by Staff | Mar 10, 2016 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint | 0 Comments

Thursday's Hometown Hero is Flicka Bateman. Flicka does a tremendous amount of work with and for refugees, helping them to adjust to life here in our community and generally, making life for these people a lot better than it would be otherwise. She helps refugees...

Brent Wall: Hometown Hero

by Staff | Mar 9, 2016 | Hometown Hero, presented by Hendrick Southpoint | 0 Comments

Brent Wall is Wednesday's Hometown Hero. Brent is the general manager at Hickory Tavern in Carrboro where they often host events to help the community. Coming soon, they will do a fundraiser for Chapel Hill-Carrboro Meals on Wheels. This will be their third annual...

Nominate a Hometown Hero!