(GALLERY) Durham Committee Honors Howerton, Davis At Annual Founders’ Day Banquet
DURHAM, NC – With a mission to promote the welfare of Black residents of Durham County, the Durham Committee of the Affairs of Black People (DCABP) has a long unwavering record of addressing the social, economic, health, civic, educational, political, and cultural realities of Durham. At the DCABP’s 87th Annual Founders’ Day Banquet, held in August at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Chairwoman Brenda Howerton, Durham County Board of Commissioners, and Wendell Davis, former Durham County Manager, were honored.
DCABP Chairman Antonio Jones said, “The Committee is pleased to honor these two individuals who are deeply connected to the growth and success of Durham County. Their contributions to social justice, economic development, public service, and so much more have had positive regional and statewide impact and have garnered national recognition.”
Brenda Howerton has been a Durham County Commissioner since 2008. Prior to being elected as Chair of the Commission when reelected to the office in 2020, she also served as Vice-Chair from 2012 to 2016. She is a trailblazer of firsts, being the first Durham County Commissioner elected to a statewide senior leadership office, serving as The Soil and Water Supervisor for 6 years, and being selected as President of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, 2017-2018.
Howerton is known as “The People’s Commissioner” because she’s a hands-on servant leader that is ever present in the community. Citizens can often see her attending charity events, championing business and education on initiatives across the County, speaking as an official at events giving voice to all citizens of the County, and rolling up her sleeves working side-by-side doing community service. During her tenure as Commissioner, her main focus has been on four principal areas: creating jobs; serving children and families and strengthening schools in Durham County; building and creating safer neighborhoods; and increasing affordable housing.
Wendell Davis is a retired local government executive having spent more than 33 years in the public service arena with most of that time as a senior-level executive overseeing government operations. His tenure in Durham County started 23 years ago. He has served as Deputy Durham County Manager and, most recently, as the Durham County Manager, the chief executive officer of Durham County Government. In addition, he also served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in higher education at North Carolina Central University. Prior to those respected roles, Davis worked for Bertie County NC, Prince William County VA, Arlington County VA, and Baltimore County MD.
Davis led Durham County through a period of unprecedented growth and most notably was a key stakeholder in helping to change both the skyline in Durham and introducing numerous cutting-edge initiatives that afforded Durham County Government to be one of the best-managed local governments in the nation. Being a solid fiscal agent, Davis’ stewardship has had Durham remain one of the only 66 counties in the nation to hold a Triple A Bond rating as rated by Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. He was instrumental in leading a capital building campaign that resulted in over $1 billion in new construction in Durham County. He is lauded by his colleagues as a visionary with exceptional analytical skills and a critical thinker who uses a systems approach to problem-solving.
The current President and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute DeJuana L. Thompson served as the keynote speaker. Thompson is a political and social strategist providing initiative and sustainable engagement methods and models for candidates, campaigns, and community organizations. She’s also a founding partner with Thinks Rubix, a social innovation consultancy that helps nonprofits, businesses, and governments to engage in systems of Woke Vote, an organization designed to engage, mobilize, and turn out African-American voters in the South through campus and faith-based outreach, strategic media outreach, culturally relevant GOTV efforts and training for organizers. Thompson is a Dial Fellow with the prestigious Emerson Collective.
Two scholarships were presented and one youth was honored during the Founders’ Day Banquet:
- Trey Breeden – A lifelong resident of the city of Durham, Trey has successfully graduated from Hillside New Tech High School and is pursuing a degree in Communications at East Carolina University. From the age of nine to the present, Trey has been actively involved in leadership development and community service as a Cadet with the Thomas Mentor Leadership Academy (TMLA);
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Tucker Zachary Tucker – Zachary graduated Summa Cum Laude from Hillside New Tech High School with a GPA of 4.42 and simultaneously received an Associate in Arts with honors from Durham Technical Community College. He will attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the fall of 2022 to study business;
Sada Maryanov – A senior at Jordan High School, Sada is a young activist within the community. She dedicates all her work toward confronting and dismantling all systems of oppression, specifically racism, sexism, and classism. After college, she plans on going to law school, with the ultimate goal of becoming a civil rights lawyer.
Karen Clark, Midday On-Air Personality at FOXY 107.1/104.3, served as the Mistress of Ceremony. Angelique Stallings, Chair of the DCABP’s Civic Committee, and Rosa Anderson, Vice-Chair, handled the planning, organizing, and execution of the 87th Annual Founders’ Day Banquet.
Over 600 people were in attendance at the first in-person event since the Founders’ Banquet held in 2019 when now U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was the keynote speaker. For information on the Durham Committee and how you can become a member, click here.
Gallery: 87th Annual Founders’ Day Banquet (Photos: Jerry Head)
