Local leaders reflected on a legacy of community involvement spanning generations during Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting.
Mayor Dawn Morgan honored the late Joseph Leak Pinnix Jr. as part of a series of ceremonial presentations. She presented his wife, Kay, with a resolution from the North Carolina League of Municipalities recognizing his contributions to the town, including nearly a dozen years as an alderman.
The resolution also expressed the organization’s sorrow at Pinnix’s death last year and directed that the document become part of its permanent record.
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“Kay and Joe both have served the community in so many ways,” Morgan added.
Kay Pinnix thanked the board for the recognition and remembered her husband’s enthusiasm for public service.
“Joe loved Kernersville, but boy did he love being an alderman,” she said. “And I am so proud of everything that he and all the different aldermen that he served with were able to accomplish.”
The recognition was the final of four presentations during the meeting, with Morgan also proclaiming observances recognizing small businesses, family caregivers, and the inaugural Triad Asian Food and Culture Festival.
She proclaimed Nov. 28 as Small Business Saturday in Kernersville, continuing an annual tradition of encouraging consumers to shop locally on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Morgan cited figures included in the proclamation indicating that Kernersville is home to nearly 1,500 small businesses and more than half of the Kernersville Chamber of Commerce members have 20 employees or less. She also noted that roughly 68 cents of every dollar spent at a small business nationwide remains in the local community.
Chamber President Chris Comer encouraged residents to make shopping local a priority, adding: “In my experience, small business doesn’t have anyone to fall back on but us, the consumers. So, please make sure that you continue to support them.”
Morgan also proclaimed November as National Family Caregivers Month, citing the more than 2.3 million unpaid family caregivers across the state who provide an estimated 1.79 billion hours of care annually with an economic value of approximately $33 billion.
Finally, the mayor declared Nov. 14 as Triad Asian Food and Culture Festival Day, recognizing the inaugural festival scheduled for the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market in Colfax.
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