Community Service honorees selected

Wake Forest School of Law Dean Blake Morant and Twana Wellman-Roebuck, the executive director of the nonprofit the Experiment in Self-Reliance (ESR), have been selected to receive top honors at The Chronicle’s 29th Annual Community Service Awards Gala.

A panel of notables selected Morant as Man of the Year, Wellman-Roebuck as Woman of the Year and more than a dozen other people and local entities for several other awards.

Morant has earned national recognition for his leadership of the Law School, including an appointment to the Federal Judicial Center Foundation Board by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts.

Wellman-Roebuck has spent the bulk of her professional career working to uplift families and communities. She recently spearheaded a multi-million dollar capital campaign that will fund ESR’s new headquarters.

Wilson was recognized earlier this year by government officials.

Special Recognition Awards will go to Tim Wilson, the Winston-Salem Police officer who subdued a gun-wielding high school student, possibly thwarting a deadly incident; Carrie Vickery, a young attorney who donated a kidney to a man whom she had only known for less than a year; and Carmelita Coleman, a Department of Social Services employee renowned for her dedication to youth in foster care.

Eddie Bines Jr., an accomplished baritone well-known for his direction of the Big Four Choir, will receive the Curator of the African American Arts Award. The Social Promoters, a decades-old fellowship club, has been named the Organization of the Year. The School of the Year Award will go to Atkins Academic and Technology High, which has emerged as one of the county’s most successful schools. The Business of the Year Award will go to Carolina’s Vineyards and Hops, a swank and popular spot founded by Christopher Megginson. New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church has been selected as the Church of the Year for its many outreach ministries and programs. The Human Relations Award will go to the Winston-Salem Legal Aid of North Carolina office, which has provided pro bono services for the past 50 years.

Conrad

Matthews

Jones

Lifetime Achievement Awards will go to Jim Conrad, a longtime business owner and public servant; Billie Matthews, a former educator who continues to impact the community through her many volunteer activities; and Elva Jones, the much-venerated chair of Winston-Salem State University Computer Science Department.

The awards will be presented Saturday, March 22 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Benton Convention Center. Tickets are $25 and are available by calling 336-722-8624 , emailing plewis@wschronicle.com, or at The Chronicle, 617 N. Liberty St.