Once a year, the Anson County Chamber of Commerce holds its annual dinner as a way to allow Chamber members to come together, socialize, elect board members, enjoy a delicious meal and honor those who have given back to the community over the past year.

This year's banquet, held Tuesday night, Nov. 17, at the Lockhart-Taylor Center in Wadesboro, was the largest yet, with nearly 170 in attendance, including state lawmakers Sen. Bill Purcell and Rep. Pryor Gibson. It was also a chance for the general public to get to use the center's new commercial kitchen for the first time.

One of the driving forces behind bringing the commercial kitchen to South Piedmont Community College's (SPCC) Lockhart-Taylor Center was also the first award recipient of the evening.

Dr. Don Altieri was president of Anson Community College when it made the transition to SPCC, and he then became SPCC's first president, explained Carly Little, the 2008 recipient of the Henry W. Little III Community Leadership Award.

After he retired from SPCC, Altieri saw a need within the community to help new businesses and to help further education in the community as well, and thus, New Ventures Business Development, Inc., was born.

He's also been one of the driving forces behind Uptown Wadesboro, Inc., which helps to promote uptown businesses, and helped bring the Rotary Planetarium & Science Center to town. "Without this center, many children would have no idea how exciting science can be," Little said.

Altieri has received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian award in the state of North Carolina.

"In the words of one of his co-workers," Little said, "Dr. Altieri is of the purest agenda— he's completely honorable in everything he does."

In accepting the award, Altieri was humble, saying, "Education has always been at the center of everything I do."

He added that all of the accomplishments Little had listed were "the result of people working together."

As is tradition, Lynn Edwards, last year's recipient of the W. Dunlap Covington Award for Community Service, came to the podium next to present the award to this year's winner. However, she turned those honors over to former Chamber executive director Elbert Marshall, who joked that even if the president knocked on his door during a Duke basketball game, he'd have to wait until the game was over— but Marshall added he was making exception in this case.

Marshall was one of the first who helped to establish the Anson County Partnership for Children in 1997, and said he couldn't pass up the opportunity to present the award to the organization.

"Our first order of business was to hire an executive director, and we chose well," Marshall said, referring to Elaine Scarborough, who's been director since 1997.

"In the 13 years the Partnership for Children has been serving Anson County," he said, "there has been an important and dramatic impact in the preparation of children in their preschool years."

He highlighted Partnership's contributions to literacy, to helping teen parents and to prevent teen pregnancy, child safety seat education, the More at Four program and to helping local child care providers earn four- and five-star ratings. The organization has also procured more than $5 million in funding over the past 13 years through its grant writing programs.

Scarborough accepted the award on behalf of the organization, thanking the many in the room who have donated to the Partnership's fundraising events over the past 13 years.

"I feel so much pride in the work we do every day," she said. "We really do keep young children in our hearts every day."

Scarborough also thanked her staff and the Partnership's board of directors, before board chairman Dana Manness came to the podium for one last award— an individual Dunlap award for Scarborough.

Scarborough has been an educator for 35 years, Manness said, including previous experience as a teacher and principal before becoming director of the Anson County Partnership for Children.

"Her goal is to make North Carolina a safer environment for children now and in the future," Manness said. "And she will not hesitate to put her career on the line to help a child. I've seen it and I know others in this room have as well."

In accepting the second award, Scarborough thanked her staff and board members again, as well as her husband, Don, and daughter, Whitney, who left a busy law school schedule to come to the awards ceremony.

"I'm not a native of Anson County," Scarborough said, "but I feel like one tonight."