LCC taps another Casino dealer
Bill Ellis, director of Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation, is one of nine celebrity dealers to participate in Lenoir Community College’s first Casino Night, set for 7 to 10 p.m. Friday in the Culinary Arts Center of the Waller Building.
The ECU graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Parks and Recreation has been with the department for 30 years and director for the past 17. He is a member of the Kinston Exchange Club and the Kinston Noon Rotary Club. He has received numerous community service awards, including the Red Cross Citizen of the Year, the Roy Poole Memorial Award, the Parks and Recreation Distinguished Service Award, the Jaycees Distinguished Service Award and the East Carolina Distinguished Alumni Award.
Ellis and his wife Judy have a son and daughter-in-law, U.S. Marine Corps Capt. and Mrs. Kyle Ellis of Sneads Ferry, and a granddaughter.
AgCarolina awards ENC grants
AgCarolina Farm Credit has awarded $30,200 in grants to 11 organizations through their corporate giving program, the Fund for Rural North Carolina. The grants will help recipients carry out programs that specifically benefit farmers and rural residents in the communities of Eastern North Carolina where the Association conducts business.
Grants up to $5,000 per organization were awarded in the focus areas of education, environment, technology or quality of rural life.
Greene County Cooperative Extension was awarded $1,000 to begin the Fit to Farm program to educate farmers and families about healthy lifestyles and to provide them with access to no-cost preventative health screenings and classes.
Pitt County FFA Alumni received $3,000 to provide FFA membership packets to all students enrolled in agriculture education at Ayden-Grifton and North Pitt high schools.
ECU/NC Agromedicine Institute received $5,000 to provide educational training sessions to teach healthcare professionals, students, future AgrAbility partners and disabled farming individuals.
Southside High School Ag Education was awarded $3,000 to offer educational opportunities in agriculture mechanics and to buy a Briggs & Stratton educational kit.
Wilson County Cooperative Extension received $2,500 to buy a compound microscope with a digital camera to aid in identifying and diagnosing plant diseases.
Other recipients included Corinth Holders High School, N.C. FFA Foundation, Port Discover, Aspire 2, Satellite Program and Rolesville Middle School FFA.
AgCarolina Farm Credit, a farmer owned financial cooperative headquartered in Raleigh, is the leading provider of credit to farmers in the central and eastern parts of the state.