Shelmer Doyle Blackburn Jr.

• Year Inducted: 2014
• Blackburn established The Blackburn Family Foundation Charitable Organization. He is the former Chairman of Adult Enrichment Services of Wilkes County and was instrumental in the establishment of the Ruby Pardue Blackburn Adult Day Care.

Zachary Knight Galifianakis

• Year Inducted: 2014
• Galifianakis’ career began on television, and he currently thrives in the film industry as an award-winning supporting actor.

Leonard G. Herring

• Year Inducted: 2014
• Under Herring's leadership, Lowe’s was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Herring also decided to grow the company by increasing its do-it-yourself retail business while retaining the building supply market share.

Marvin "Red" Hoffman

• Year Inducted: 2014
• In 2014, the NCHSAA recognized Hoffman posthumously as one of the “NCHSAA 100 Coaches To Remember.” Coach Hoffman was recognized as the face of Wilkes County athletics statewide.

Petro "Pete" Kulynych

• Year Inducted: 2014
• Kulynych's job as the bookkeeper for a small hardware store in North Wilkesboro eventually grew into serving as top executive at the same store, which grew into the Lowe's hardware chain.

Benny Parsons

• Year Inducted: 2014
• Parsons received the North Carolina Motor Sports Industry Life Time Tribute Award, the National Motor Sports Press Association Award and the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

James Larkin Pearson

• Year Inducted: 2014
• Pearson was appointed as North Carolina's second Poet Laureate, and he served from 1953 until 1981. He kept this title until his death.

John Swofford

• Year Inducted: 2014
• Swofford was instrumental in shaping the new postseason format for college football, and his leadership and negotiating skills helped the ACC conference extend its exclusive, multi-platform agreement with ESPN.

Dr. Howard Thompson

• Year Inducted: 2014
• Dr. Thompson was the founding president of Wilkes Community College (WCC). He served from March 1965 to June 1977 and built WCC into a highly respected educational institution.

Jack Branch

• Year Inducted: 2015
• Branch is known at ASU as the “apple man” because of his gifts of more than 300 cases of apples each year, delivering them to Boone for home teams and visiting teams as a way to show support for both men and women’s sports.

Arnold N. Lakey

• Year Inducted: 2015
• Lakey is one of Wilkes County's most notable philanthropists, and was named to The Order of the Long Leaf Pine

Wilson Denver Key

• Year Inducted: 2015
• After nearly six years as a POW in and around Hanoi, Key received many distinguished military awards and held many positions with the U.S. Navy.

Charles Fred Lovette

• Year Inducted: 2015
• Lovette entered the family business as demand for eggs and chickens soared during WWII. As a highly respected innovator and businessman, Lovette's legacy to Wilkes County is evident even today.

Edith Marie Carter

• Year Inducted: 2015
• Carter worked for many years as a graphic designer, and illustrated the story of Tom Dooley in the 1950s. She's received numerous acclamations and honors for her work.

Edwin J. Canter

• Year Inducted: 2015
• Returning to Wilkes County after the Marines, Canter became another kind of hero: a hero to Wilkes County school children.

H. Carl Buchan

• Year Inducted: 2015
• Buchan was an innovator with an insatiable appetite for new and better ways to do everything, helping Lowe's to expand since the 1940s.

Jane Wilborn

• Year Inducted: 2015
• Wilborn's commitment to children was evident in her classroom and through her volunteer work with disadvantaged populations.

John White Hubbard

• Year Inducted: 2015
• Hubbard was an advocate for many non-profit organizations in Wilkes County, and sought to give citizens a "hand up."

Charles Sylvester Felts

• Year Inducted: 2016
• Charles Sylvester Felts was a man whose integrity was recognized and respected by citizens of Wilkes from various walks of life. It was known of Felts that he would not "sear your back." This meant if Felts saw you running away from a still and never saw your face, he would not sear in court that he could identify you. Felts had a reputation of never stretching the truth.

John Allen Garwood

• Year Inducted: 2016
• John Allen Garwood's passion for North Carolina public education was evident through a lifetime of service. He was appointed to the Appalachian Board of Trustees, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, the Public School Forum of North Carolina, Wilkes Literacy Consortium and the Wilkes County Vocational Education Board.

James Aaron Hemric

• Year Inducted: 2016
• During Jim’s 21-year coaching career he mentored young men as he led by example, while striving to instill team values in each of his players. Those values included demonstrating good sportsmanship on and off the field of play and teaching baseball fundamentals.

Dr. Frederick Cecil Hubbard

• Year Inducted: 2016
• Hubbard was one of the leaders in the Y.M.C.A. movement in Wilkes County and is a past president of the Y.M.C.A. He was a charter member of the Kiwanis Club in North Wilkesboro and was very active in local and state medical societies.

Richard Blaine Johnston

• Year Inducted: 2016
• Richard Johnston served the local furniture industry from 1935-1975. He was the son of the American Furniture Company founder, Andrew Blaine Johnston.

Irene Adelaide Parsons

• Year Inducted: 2016
• Irene Adelaide Parsons' leadership brought honor to her agency and she was recognized in the Congressional Record for making the “VA personnel operation one of the most successful in government.”

Enoch Rufus Staley

• Year Inducted: 2016
• Enoch Rufus Staley, President of North Wilkesboro Speedway, was a charter member of NASCAR and pioneer in the sport. Staley worked multiple roles as the sport grew to attain the international prominence it enjoys today.

Alvin A. Sturdivant, Jr.

• Year Inducted: 2016
• Sturdivant has been active in community service for many years and in many ways including Chairman of Wilkes Regional Medical Center and founder of The Health Foundation, Inc. whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of the citizens of Wilkes County.

Dr. Zaphon Robert Wilson

• Year Inducted: 2016
• Dr. Zaphon Robert Wilson received the Appalachian State University’s Face of Courage Award for his contributions during Appalachian State University’s early efforts to promote racial diversity.

William Fletcher Absher, Jr.

• Year Inducted: 2017
• What made him so effective as a community leader though was not his titles but his genuineness. He was a true friend and offered support to all who asked. Though always a leader, Absher never considered himself above others.

James Nielsen Andrews

• Year Inducted: 2017
• Andrews also started a research program to improve the feed performance and promote the healthy growth of chickens. The time required to bring the chickens to market was reduced from ten to six weeks, and the size of the chickens increased from two to four pounds.

Earl Thomas Eller

• Year Inducted: 2017
• Eller has been and remains active in the North Wilkes community, Wilkes County, and across the state. He is a charter member of the Mountain View Ruritan Club, served on the Wilkes Community College Board of Trustees, and volunteers as a lunch buddy for Communities In Schools.

Thomas Cameron Finley

• Year Inducted: 2017
• Awards received by Finley include the Governor’s Award for Heroism after helping save a boy from drowning, BSA Silver Beaver Award, Rotary Club Citizen of the Year, Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award, Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award, Friends of Scouting Chair, and the Celtic Cross Award by the National Association of Presbyterian Scouters.

Robert Hege III

• Year Inducted: 2017
• Hege has served as Chairman and President of the Wilkes Education Foundation and President of the N.C. State Alumni Association in 1988 and 1989. He has been a member of the Wilkes Community College Advisory Council, Vice President of the Society of Preservation of Old Mills, and has served on the Wilkes County Extension Advisory Board since 2007.

Maurice Benfield Phillips

• Year Inducted: 2017
• From his youth and through each professional position, Phillips continued to keep a sense of humor and positive attitude. He believed in treating people fairly, searching for each individual’s unique genius, listening and helping people succeed.

Larry D. Stone

• Year Inducted: 2017
• Stone received the North Carolina’s Longleaf Pine Award from Governor Beverly Perdue in 2011. Also, he received an Honorary Alumni Award from Appalachian State University where he served as a member of the ASU Foundation Board of Directors.

James 'Jim' Bradley Wilcox

• Year Inducted: 2017
• Wilcox Marketing won The Small Business Award, chosen by Wilkes Chamber of Commerce in 1990. He served as President of the North Wilkesboro Rotary Club in 1993. Wilcox has won numerous “Broker of the Year” Awards for Wilcox Marketing, representing such lines of products such as Butterball, Smith eld, Bob Evans, and Nathans.

Dr. Keith L. Bentley

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Dr. Bentley has served as a volunteer and mentor for young dentists. He was instrumental in establishing the dental assistants program at Wilkes Community College where he has served as instructor and consultant.

Coleen Triplett Bush

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Bush dedicated 50 years in service to the students, parents and teachers of Wilkes County in four capacities. Bush taught for nine years at North Wilkesboro Elementary School and later served as a supervisor with the North Wilkesboro City School system.

Lady Sara Lou Harris Carter

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Sara Lou became a leading model, radio and television personality as well as a lifelong humanitarian. In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, she broke the color barrier several times, appearing as the first African American model in the New York buyers fashion show.

Deneen Zezell Graham-Kerns

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Graham-Kerns became the first African American to be crowned Miss North Carolina on June 25, 1983. Two weeks after she became Miss North Carolina, a “Deneen Graham Day” was held in North Wilkesboro. The day included a parade, jazz band, key to the city and speeches by mayors, town, and county commissioners.

Judge Johnson Jay Hayes

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Hayes helped organize the Wilkes Building and Loan Association and the Kiwanis Club. Always interested in education, he was instrumental in establishing Wilkes Community College and in moving Wake Forest College from Wake County to Winston-Salem.

Dr. James A. Richardson

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Dr. Richardson expanded curriculum programs, developed strategic planning in all divisions, and expanded the campus facilities. The state board consistently recognized Western Piedmont Community College as an institution of excellence under his leadership.

Nikeard Bruce Smithey

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Smithey was actively involved in his county, serving as chairman of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners for many years and was also chairman of the Wilkes County Republican party.In addition, he was a board member of the Deposit and Savings Bank.

Lincoln Sydnor Spainhour

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Many knew Linc as a horse trader, literally and figuratively. When he and his brothers would bargain for a new store location, Linc always did the negotiating. He maintained that “a deal isn’t good if it doesn’t work for both parties.” Linc has been described as “truly a remarkable man who chose to use his God-given gifts for the benefit of others.”

Phillip Gerald “Phil” Stevens

• Year Inducted: 2018
• He considers one of his greatest accomplishments to be the Watauga-Ashe-Wilkes Scholarship Endowment, a fund of over $1.6 million for students who are hard workers, but whose families cannot afford to send them to college.

John Alexander Walker

• Year Inducted: 2018
• Walker, a man of many interests and talents, enjoyed writing poetry and political commentaries as well as actively participating in golf and fishing.

John R. Bentley

• Year Inducted: 2019
• Bentley is a well-known Boy Scouts of America volunteer for his service of 69 years. He has served as scoutmaster of five different scout troops in Wilkes and Avery County.

Dr. James “Jim” Brooks

• Year Inducted: 2019
• Dr. Brooks has served the students and staff of Wilkes County Schools not only as a teacher but a mentor, department chair, and lead teacher for 34 years.

Arthur M. “Buster” Bush

• Year Inducted: 2019
• Buster led a recreation program for youth with the help of local churches several years before the Town of North Wilkesboro began financing the program.

Conley Call

• Year Inducted: 2019
• Call served in the North Carolina National Guard and Army Reserve for 37 years, was past Commander of the North Wilkesboro National Guard, and retired Colonel Army Reserve.

Elizabeth Ann Parks Grinton

• Year Inducted: 2019
• Grinton began her teaching career at her former school, Lincoln Heights in 1947. Grinton’s noted involvement in education and the community brought her many awards and recognition.

Randall “Rudy” Holbrook

• Year Inducted: 2019
• Holbrook has served as a successful businessman in the Ronda community for over 39 years as co-founder of Southeastern Cars and Parts, Inc.

Heather Murphy

• Year Inducted: 2019
• Murphy is known for her skills as a professional fundraiser and grant writer, having led volunteer efforts to fund the start-up of The Wilkes Public Health Dental Clinic and Mobile Unit and The Ruby Pardue Blackburn Adult Day Health Care

James “Jim” Swofford

• Year Inducted: 2019
• Swofford is known for being generous with his time in the service of others. He is a member of the North Wilkesboro Rotary Club, Marine Corps League, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.