Grace Mynatt, a noted community leader and recent Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, will provide the keynote address as more than 900 students graduate during Rowan-Cabarrus Community College’s 48th commencement ceremony Saturday.
The college will also present GED certificates to more than 400 recipients.
The ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center.
Mynatt and her family are highly regarded for the economic and civic contributions they have made to the region and to the state of North Carolina.
Mynatt is a native of Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee. She served as a public school teacher in Tennessee and North Carolina for 14 years and became a resident of Concord in 1976 when her late husband, Ben Mynatt, purchased the Chevrolet dealership that bears his name. She and her late husband have a son Richard and a daughter Cyndie who joined them in the automobile business with automobile dealerships in Concord, Kannapolis, and Salisbury.
Mynatt was elected to the Cabarrus County Board of Education from 1993 to 2006 and served as both vice-chair and chairwoman.
She was also elected to the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners from 2006 to 2010, serving as vice-chairwoman in 2007.
Mynatt has been honored for her volunteerism with many awards and is a recipient of the NC Governor’s Award for Volunteer Service, and the NAACP Humanitarian Award.
In 2011, the Greater Cabarrus Chamber of Commerce presented her with its distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for her exceptional accomplishments and service.
Mynatt is the founding board chair of Communities in Schools in Cabarrus County, past-chairwoman of the Concord –Cabarrus Chamber of Commerce, and the founding Board Chair of the Cabarrus County Education Foundation, a board on which she currently serves.
Other board service includes the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Salvation Army, Cabarrus Arts Council, and the Old Courthouse Theater Auxiliary. Grace also extends much of her time and service to the Central Methodist Church, in Concord.
Mynatt and her family have given their time and talents to Rowan-Cabarrus Community College over many years.
Ben Mynatt, Grace’s late husband, was appointed as an RCCC trustee from 1989 to 2000, and served as vice chairman of that board.
Grace’s daughter, Cyndie, was appointed as an RCCC trustee in 2005 and like her father, now serves as vice-chairwoman of the board.