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.