Fifteen people, including 10 from the area, have been honored with The President’s Lifetime Achievement Award by the White House for decades of service to their communities.
The group’s exceptional service was celebrated Saturday, Aug. 19, at an event hosted by Sanford-based Mercy Life University Bible College. The awards, signed by President Joe Biden, recognize their “life-long commitment to building a stronger nation through volunteer services.”
Those honored from this area were Jean Marsh, Richard Yost, Jesse Stone, and Minister Marcia Smith Presley, all of Carthage; Pastor Tim Worthy, Taylortown; Evangelist Tommy Scarboro, West End; Pastor Tom Everett, Lakeview; Pastor Steven Coleman, Southern Pines; Reverend Mark Akinosho and Bishop Donald Kivett, both from Sanford. Others given the awards were Beniam Diro, Raleigh; Arthur Kparr, Washington, D.C.; Bishop Dock Hilton and Bishop Gregg Proctor, both of Chesapeake, Virginia; and Reverend Marvin Parazo, Fairbanks, Alaska.
In addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award certificates, each of the 15 also received gold medallions engraved with “The President’s Volunteer Service Award.”
The awards were made after the bible college recommended that the White House recognize the more than 500 hours of service by each of the recipients, according to Pastor Yonas Badi, founder of Mercy Life Ministries in Cameron, which is the outreach arm of the bible college.
Mercy Life Ministries plans to give the awards every year in August.
Feature photo: Award recipient Evangelist Tommy Scarboro (right), of West End, and President of Mercy Life University Bible College and founder of Mercy Life Ministries Dr. Yonas Badi/Courtesy photo.
Contributed.
