Presentations, surprises, recognitions and fellowship were all on the menu for the 9th annual Smart Start Rowan’s Dr. Shirley P. Ritchie Champion for Young Children Celebration.

“This is our most well attended event yet,” said Amy Brown, Smart Start Rowan’s executive director, “and we are so thrilled with that.”

The Garrison Venue on Providence Church Road was the venue for the celebration, held March 12 featuring a catered meal and program, thus providing the opportunity to celebrate community involvement. Jason Walser, a former Smart Start Rowan board member, served as the emcee.

Two special awards were presented during the evening to both salute and express gratitude to the recipients for all they have done for the organization. Both announcements were met with emotion and celebration.

The first, the Building Brighter Futures Award, was a new honor added to this year’s program. Those named as the very first recipients of this award were Greg and Missie Alcorn.

In announcing the award, board member and volunteer Erik Lipscomb shared the various considerations made in selecting the recipient.

He noted that the honoree must have a strong strategic vision that aligns with the vision and mission of Smart Start Rowan, consistently shows commitment to the well-being of children, families and community, and provides significant philanthropic support to the programs of Smart Start Rowan.

“Tonight’s Building Brighter Futures Award recipients embody all of these qualifications and could not be more deserving of this honor,” Lipscomb said. “They are always ready to help in any way they can to ensure that each child Smart Start Rowan serves is provided for, nurtured and given a solid early child learning experience.”

The Alcorns have been key supporters in many of the organization’s projects including Angel Tree, the Champion for Young Children Scholarship Fund, Breakfast with Santa Family Outreach event and the annual Dr. Shirley P. Ritchie Champion for Young Children Celebration.

The couple has also founded their own innovative technology based literacy program, ApSeed, which helps children become kindergarten ready. This program reaches beyond this area into 17 additional North Carolina counties and in five other states.

Following the presentation, Lipscomb shared that hereafter, to honor the Alcorns, and with their blessing, Smart Start hopes to name this award The Greg and Missie Alcorn Building Brighter Future Award and that it would continue to be presented at future events.

“This is a terrific honor,” Greg Alcorn said. “I hope you can hear it in my voice how much this means to Missie and I. What we have been able to hopefully accomplish so far, we are just beginning.”

The second presentation, the giving of the Dr. Shirley P. Ritchie Champion for Children Award, was made by Walser. He shared it was first given to Ritchie in 2003 and through the years has been awarded to other remarkable Rowan leaders and the tradition would continue as it was going to another “very deserving individual,” Walser said, later announcing that the 2024 recipient was Jimmy Greene.

In sharing about Greene, he said he began serving with Smart Start in 2007 and through the years served as board chair, vice chair, treasurer, and on various committees, “basically every single volunteer role that Smart Start has had.”

He is co-owner of Fisher Greene Walker Hill Insurance Company, head softball coach at West Rowan High School, a member of the Rowan Salisbury School System board of education, has been president of the Salisbury Civitans and Rowan Booster clubs, and has been on the Nazareth Children’s Home board.

Greene’s volunteer list, in addition to Smart Start Rowan, includes helping with Special Olympics, Rowan Helping Ministries, Christ United Methodist Church board, various PTA positions and more.

And in all of these positions, Walser said that Greene does none of this for any personal advancement.

“This man is really doing it for all the right reasons. We are lucky to have him in our community,” he said.

Walser shared how in board meetings, Greene doesn’t mind being the dissenting vote, as “his passion and his heart is about doing what is best for the kids.”

When sharing about his work as coach, he mentioned this work “is down in the trenches. He is changing lives, one child at a time, young kids, old kids.”

Calling Greene to come up, Walser shared some additional news that Smart Start would donate, in his honor, a little free library wherever Greene chose.

“We will always make sure it’s stocked full of books,” Walser said. “We are thrilled to be able to honor you in this way for all you’ve done for us.”

Greene shared his thanks and said, “wow, but what an undeserving person for this award.”

Telling that his father instilled in him how important it is to serve, adding that as a businessman, it does take priority to feed your family, “but you have a job to serve. To serve is based in the Christian roots, so make sure you do it right, do it well and take it seriously.”

He concluded by sharing how blessed he is to have grown up with loving parents and blessed by the love of his wife Donna, “whether I deserve it or not. I appreciate her and I appreciate everybody in this room.”

In speaking of the award, Greene’s wife said, “it will mean the world to him. It will be probably better than us getting married,” she said with a smile, prior to the ceremony.

She also mentioned how much he thinks of Smart Start and “absolutely adores everybody on this board and all the stuff they do with the community.”

His daughter, Parker Greene, added how exciting it is for him to get this award “because I feel like he pours his all into the community and into the kids.” He is a role model and very inspiring.

“I’m glad that he’s getting the recognition even though I know that’s not what he’s in it for,” she said. “He just has the heart of a servant. This is what he loves to do. That’s his purpose.” 

At each year’s celebration, the focus is on one of the four main areas of service to children and families, and this year’s theme was centered on early literacy, which was reflected in all facets of the program, “bringing our vision to life,” said Brown. 

“We all know that if children develop a love of reading early in life, the opportunities for success in school and later in life are endless” she said.

The keynote speaker was Kahla Williams, of Sevierville, Tenn., who serves as regional director South of The Dollywood Foundation. She shared about Dolly’s Imagination Library telling that it is a special program connecting families in special ways through time spent together and with books.  

“Dolly wants to help inspire the love for reading and make sure that children have access to books and learning to provide the start they need in education and in life,” she said.

Williams said she is responsible for new enrollments for the Imagination Library as well as seeking out and establishing new programs and there is a program in every county in North Carolina where appropriate, specially selected books are given to registered children with their names on them at no cost to their parents, she noted.

Williams shared that as of March 11, “there are 3,937 Rowan County children currently enrolled thanks to Smart Start Rowan, their volunteers, their partners, the community, and they continue to enroll more eligible children every day.”

Before the program and award were presented, recognition was given to all the elected officials there, Smart Start board and staff, the sponsors, Mark Ritchie and Celia Ritchie Jarrett, two of Shirley P. Ritchie’s children and Justin Somers, regional director for the office of U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, who attended on behalf of the senator. Somers shared a recorded message from Budd sending his regrets and well wishes, congratulating award winners and Smart Start on their achievements and the incredible work they do supporting children and their families.

Following the theme of early literacy, certificates of special recognition were presented by Lorie Aldridge, Smart Start Rowan board chair to some key partners, who, she said, “have been true champions for Smart Start Rowan in its early literacy work. They know and understand that books do bring brighter tomorrows and they are all so deserving of our recognition and thanks tonight.”

Those honored were Apseed Early Childhood Education and Rowan Public Library, along with medical offices that participate in their Reach Out and Read program including Cleveland Pediatrics, Novant Health Granite Quarry Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, Novant Health Salisbury Medical, Rowan County Health Department and Salisbury Pediatrics Associates.

As the evening drew to a close, Denise Heinke, director of outreach and development, came forward and expressed her congratulations to the award winners and shared her thanks to all who “contributed making tonight possible” from those who helped plan, volunteered and sponsored. “Each and every one of you has played a vital role in creating this wonderful occasion,” she said. “It’s been magical and I’m humbled to be a part of Smart Start Rowan.”

She concluded by sharing a video showing the impact of early literacy on young children, describing the benefits of reading to children early in their lives and how “your investment paves the way for little minds to have books to bring brighter tomorrows.”

What started with their mom some 27 years ago, continues today, both Ritchie and Jarrett commented.

Jarrett shared how she is “just proud to see what mother was a part of” those years ago, “that same community of people come together. Mother, she was a wonderful leader, but we have so many Shirley Ritchies in our community.”

“Our mother had a drive for the well being of all children,” Ritchie said, to which Jarrett added, that drive was “to make sure that all children had access to quality education. That was her dream and we see that continuing today.”