Award finalist celebrates in Raleigh

By: Tracy Farnham | Morganton News Herald
Published: February 05, 2010

MORGANTON --

As a finalist for the Dr. John R. Larkins Award, Janie Avery from Burke County attended the annual State Employees' Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance program in Raleigh.
Avery, along with her sisters, traveled to the capital for the special ceremony held during the MLK program on Jan. 15 at First Baptist Church Raleigh where five Larkins Award finalists were honored and one received this year's award.
"Out of 300 fellow state employees being nominated one out of five is pretty amazing," said Avery's sister, Alice Powell.
According to a press release from the governor's office, the John R. Larkins Award was created in 1998 as one of North Carolina's highest honors in public service. Larkins helped create and expand the state's programs for minorities and he established the Human Relations Commission (formerly the Good Neighbor Council).
Avery said, "This was a surprise to me. This is a very prestigious award."
She was nominated by her former co-worker, Sylvia Anderson.
Administrators at the J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center, where Avery is employed, sent in the nomination.
The annual award is presented to a North Carolina state government employee who promotes human and race relations in both the workplace and in the community. The award recipient must have worked for state government for a minimum of two years.
A member of the Burke County NAACP, Avery has served as president and vice president of the organization that makes sure the rights of minorities are protected. She also organized projects on the Riddle Center's campus for Black History Month.
"It is part of educating and making people aware, including the staff and people who live here, about black history," Avery explained.
She also works with teens in her church, Gaston Chapel AME.
"I work with the youth on how to be young missionaries and take care of others," she said.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day committee selects a panel of judges who choose the Larkins Award recipient.
Gov. Beverly Perdue presented the award posthumously to Donice Marie Harbor, who passed away of breast cancer in 2009.
Though she did not win, Avery said, "It was a very nice experience to be there and be considered amongst the finalists, people who are patterning their lives after Dr. Larkins. It was an honor to have people recognize the work that I've done in the community and church."

Award finalist celebrates in Raleigh

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