On May 27, 2021, Partners In Education held the 10th PIE Annual Luncheon at the Havelock Tourist & Event Center. And then, on May 28, 2021, PIE held the second Virtual Lunch In-Place event for those who couldn’t be with us in person. The monies raised from the Annual Luncheon go towards the grant programs in our Craven County Schools classrooms and are administered by the PIE board.
As a result of the money raised, we are excited to offer a one-time $2,000 grant in honor of our keynote speaker, Dr. Bryan Johnson, Superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, and 2021 National Superintendent of the Year finalist. The grant’s focus will be STEM, and it will be available for the 2021-22 school year to our Craven County Schools principals (put your thinking caps on!).
As our keynote speaker, Dr. Johnson was inspiring and reflective. He spoke directly to the subject at hand and ended with a quote from Rita Pierson, “Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”
Thank you to Principal Stacie Friebel and Jorge Benitez for allowing the premiere Havelock High Jazz Band to provide our entertainment at the in person and virtual luncheon! And thank you to Ms. Jodi Elbing and her band at Grover C. Fields Middle for providing additional entertainment for the virtual luncheon. We are so proud of everyone! Your kids literally rock!
A HUGE shout out to Chef Smoke at The Flame for working with us down to the wire! The Flame not only has excellent food and service, but Chef Smoke and his crew are good people and true professionals. Their staff was accommodating and superbly efficient.
A thank you to Morgan’s and The Chelsea for offering meals for the PIE Lunch In-Place event! While we could not all be together in person, the virtual event allowed everyone in our district to hear Dr. Johnson’s message, enjoy Craven County Schools musical talent, and relish delicious food from our local partners.
If you could not watch the video on May 28th, it will remain up through the summer. Please take a listen; it is an inspiring video! You can access the video through a link on PIE’s website, cravenpartners.com.
John Bircher, we are always grateful to have you as our emcee. John does a fantastic job, and he goes with the flow. Maybe that is because he is a West Craven High graduate!
We had a team of volunteers who pulled this event together, and they are too numerous to mention, but we call them our super volunteers, and none of this would have happened without them!
Our deepest gratitude to our sponsors and to each person who attended the luncheon in support of public education. We are especially grateful to the cornerstones of our organization: the Craven County Schools administration, staff and teachers, and the PIE Ambassadors and Board.
We are all good at what we do, but together, we are great, because together we are partners! A standing ovation for everyone!
By Mike McCoy, PIE President and Darlene Brown, Executive Director