Dr. Ada Fisher, Bill Stanback and Mae Carroll have been honored as humanitarians by the Salisbury-Rowan Human Relations Council.
They received the council’s Elizabeth Duncan Koontz Humanitarian Awards Feb. 28 at the Salisbury Civic Center.
The evening provided the renewing of friendship and the meeting of individuals with a past history of the city and the local communities.
Salisbury native Jylla Foster-Moore was the featured speaker, encouraging each member of the audience to find something he or she believes in passionately, break the cycle of complacency and stand for something.
For example, Foster-Moore credited her teachers, from the first grade and throughout her life, with leaving an indelible imprint and molding the core of whom she is today.
Currently, she is working on her doctorate in organization development at Benedictine University, which includes study of social network theory.
She worked 22 years for IBM Corp. and participated in the fourth United Nations World Conference on Women Leaders in Beijing, China. She has traveled throughout the United States.
Of this year’s Humanitarian Award winners, the organizers said:
– Dr. Ada Fisher, a former member of the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education, gives her time and money and goes to serve “without waiting to be called.” She has endowed eight scholarships and is a writer and poet.
– William Stanback has given millions to numerous institutions, including Catawba College, Livingstone College, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Brevard College, where he serves on the board of directors.
Stanback has been a major supporter of local preservation efforts, through the Nature Conservancy, LandTrust for Central North Carolina and Southern Environmental Law Center. He has worked with Bridge Builders, a group that promotes understanding between ethnic groups.
– Mae Carroll co-sponsored the West Side Neighborhood’s Parents Association and was instrumental in coordinating the first EDK support group under the guidance of Elizabeth Koontz for the women of the Salisbury community.
She was the first female commander of J.C. Price American Legion Post 107 and served five years on the State Veterans Affairs Commission. She has received numerous awards for her efforts on behalf of veterans, children and youth.
The University of North Carolina School of Nursing recognized her with the Alumnae of the Year award for the contributions to her profession and the community.
The Humanitarian Awards are given each year to people “who exemplify the ideals of the late Elizabeth Duncan Koontz and who have made important contributions to improving human relations, education, employment, housing, business, civic, church and/or community endeavors.”
Jylla Foster-Moore, the night’s featured speaker often referred to the things she had gained from knowing Koontz.
The Elizabeth Duncan Koontz School participated in awards night at the Civic Center, along with Destiny, a Liturgical dance group made up of six young women and directed by Tiffany Miller.