Community Spirit Award

Vance Furr’s extensive contributions and devotion to Mount Holly children and youth programs including the Optimist Club, Field of Dreams, Tuckasegee Park, coaching youth sports and having the intangible role of mentor and friend.

Rodney Abernathy dedicated his career to Mount Holly youth sports and the fields where they played. He coached more than 20 years and helped with Mount Holly facilities and community sports projects, including Field of Dreams and Optimist Club.

Harry Adams started a girls AAU basketball league so they can play at the next level. After a tough start, he revamped his program, securing practice spaces. He coached AAU for 25 years and won three national championships.

Eddie Womack gave youth ballplayers rides to and from the field. Give them life through ball when homelife was not good. He was known as the man who has coached so many kids – and cared about so many kids, he loved what he did.

Scott Pope chose to be busy. He played sports, coached, a father, helped build local ballfields and announced play-by-play games, deacon at his church and nine mission trips.

Henry Massey’s life-long bond with Mount Holly and a commitment to provide for its athletes, schools, and community parks. He became chairman of Mount Holly Parks and Recreation to improve the facilities.

Carl Baber is known as the man who built Gaston County ballparks - fancy ballparks, with lights, concession stands, and fences, so children have finery when they played. Financial donations played a huge part.

Aaron Goforth, a former tire specialist for NASCAR, decided to see what baseball fields need fixing instead of what race tires to switch. He taught players how to swing, how to run, and how to have good sportsmanship.

Barry Jessen’s involvement in Mount Holly sports earned him this prestigious award as he would referee basketball at the Mount Holly gym for five, six hours straight. For free. The pay was what he got from the satisfaction of helping.

Buddie Hodges took his newfound passion for sports and cultivated it so others could benefit. He studied the game. He studied other sports as he devoted so much of his life to helping others play but end of coaching but mostly officiating back in the day.

Sarah Nixon spent a lifetime doing for others. Her resume lists nearly five decades of composing newspaper stories about people and events that shaped Mount Holly; alongside of seven decades of volunteer service to help shape the world.

Bobby John Rhyne defined himself from a semi-pro baseball player to becoming a trainer/manager for Mount Holly High School and later at Lenoir Rhyne college where he became a football and basketball trainer/manager.

John W. Lewis devoted himself to Mount Holly little league baseball, serving as a coach to generations of local families. Producing outstanding players, coached championship and all-star teams providing children with a solid foundation for life.

Dwight Frady, a local sports journalism legend, captured the spirit of sports in Mount Holly like none other. He turned high school athletes into stars and top athletes into legends. He covered everything, never missed reporting on a game.