Friends of the Library raise $15,000 at banquet

By Caroline Goins
Asst. Circulation Manager

The Friends of the Library raised $15,000 at their annual scholarship banquet April 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mary Livermore Library.

“A North Carolina Evening @ the Library” had the library filled with Dogwoods, laughter and the smell of pecan pie.

Before the live auction began, the scholarship winners were acknowledged. Junior Lisa Walters, junior Joseph Sarno,

sophomore Meiyan Zhang, senior Chalonda Coleman, junior Hannah Simpson, junior Yuan Wei, senior Wang Yao were all recipients of a Friends of the Library scholarship.

There was a silent auction of pottery, photography, quilts, and more, including works from UNCP professors as well as local artists.

During the silent auction, participants munched on fried macaroni and cheese, shrimp and grits, corn cakes, and other Southern foods.

The live auction was conducted by Raz Autry, a retired superintendent from Raeford.

During the live auction, there were such items as a five-day cruise and a diamond necklace worth more than $2,000.

Items that were not bid on at the banquet can still be bought.

The items are in the government document room upstairs in the library until noon on May 1.

The remaining auction items can also be viewed on the library’s website under “What’s New.”

Bill Thompson, a native of Hallsboro, N.C. was the guest speaker for the event. Thompson is the author of “Sweet Tea, Fried Chicken and Lazy Dogs.”

Also, he writes a column “Front Porch Stories” for the magazine Our State.

Thompson recounted all the memories he had of growing up in small town North Carolina.

He included a section “You might be a North Carolinian if” into his discussion that kept the audience laughing about small town ways.

Music was provided by James Paradis, Ramone Ruiz, and Joshua Tew, all juniors in the music department at UNCP.