N.C. Secretary of State to Speak at Barton’s Fifth Annual Habitat For Humanity Benefit

Wilson, N.C. – North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine F. Marshall will be the featured speaker at Barton College’s fifth annual Habitat for Humanity Spring Benefit to be held on Tuesday, April 15. The benefit, sponsored by the Habitat for Humanity student chapter, promises to be an evening of food and celebration as guests have an opportunity to recognize the work of Habitat for Humanity in the Wilson community. Tickets are $30 per person.

The evening’s activities will begin at 6 p.m. with a silent auction held during a wine and cheese reception in the Multipurpose Room, located on the lower level of Hardy Alumni Hall. At 7:15 p.m., guests will move upstairs to the banquet area in Hardy Alumni Hall for a delectable dinner buffet followed by remarks by Secretary Marshall.

In 1996, Secretary Marshall was the first woman to be elected Secretary of State and was the first woman to be elected to a statewide North Carolina executive branch office. Prior to her role as Secretary of State, her professional career included service within her community as a teacher, business owner, and later, a private attorney. She graduated from Campbell University School of Law and holds a B.S. degree in textiles and clothing from the University of Maryland. Secretary Marshall is a former member of the North Carolina State Senate, and represented the 15th District, which included her home county of Harnett. She has received numerous honors and awards for her service to community and state.

Barton’s Habitat for Humanity chapter has inspired excitement and enthusiasm across campus. Passionate about this work, these student members believe in doing their part to help end poverty housing across the United States and the world. One of the ways this Barton student group has chosen to help the Wilson affiliate is to sponsor an annual Habitat for Humanity spring benefit on campus, featuring distinguished guest speakers. Each year, it has grown in the number of participants, the variety of personalities featured and the amount of money raised for such a worthy cause.

This benefit serves two purposes: to raise awareness of poverty housing in the Wilson community; and to raise money to support the Habitat for Humanity’s effort to end that poverty. Both are equally important and Barton’s chapter members take these goals seriously. One hundred percent of the profits from the benefit will be donated to the Wilson affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.

The reservation deadline is April 11. For additional information or to make reservations, please contact the Reverend Hollie Woodruff, chaplain of the college and advisor of the campus Habitat chapter, at 252-399-6368 or email: hewoodruff@barton.edu.

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Questions? Please contact Kathy Daughety, director of public relations, at 252-399-6529 or email: kdaughety@barton.edu.