N OT E D. John Wortman, a third grader from Ephesus Elementary School,
served as the mayor of Chapel Hill on March 29. John has been making his own news podcast, “John News,” since April 2020 and interviewed Mayor Pam Hemminger that August. She decided to let John step into her shoes for a day this spring, and John spent the day at Chapel Hill Town Hall meeting and interviewing town officials. He even got to sign a proclamation declaring March 29 “Teacher Appreciation Day.” At press time, John was selling “I John News” T-shirts on his website, ilovejohnnews.com, with plans to donate all proceeds to TABLE. The Child Care Services Association hosted the 2022 Triangle Child Care Awards in March to honor the contributions of early childhood educators, public servants and advocates of young children and their families. The CCSA recognized U.S. Rep. David Price, state Rep. Verla Insko and Michele Rivest in particular, honoring their roles in improving the lives of young children and early educators. Other recipients included Michelle Tuttle of Estes Children’s Cottage in Chapel Hill, one of two winners of the Mary Y. Bridgers Early Childhood Teacher Award.
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City Schools and is involved in a variety of youth advocacy programs. Youth winner Kendall Lytle, pictured below, is a senior at Middle
College High School at Durham Technical Community College and also serves as president of the Chapel HillCarrboro NAACP Youth Council. Business winner Habitat for Humanity of Orange County
has worked diligently to provide families safe and affordable homes. A team of 36 students from Orange High School and Cedar Ridge High School won first place and the Imagery Award at the FIRST Robotics Championship at Campbell University in April. This high school team, The Hedgehogs, spent weeks building their robot, Free Fall, to compete against other teams’ creations. The Hedgehogs will advance to the FIRST Championship in Houston to compete against more than 450 teams next April. The students included Ally Mitchell, Anthony Ruiz, Beck Tiani, Ben Stafford, Calvin Jones, Carolyn McShane, Christian Starkey, Colum DavisRawlins, Dominic Smith, Elle Carrasco, Hannah Buckner, Harper Trost, Ian Moore, Isaac Trost, Isabella Panek, Jacob Haney, Jake Keadey, Jarren Starkey, Katelyn Mitchell, Lexi Underwood, Mason Jordan, Max Saunders, Murilo Lopes, Nicholas Lane, Noah Frederick, Owen Howard, Riley Keadey, Rodrigo Alvarado Gomez, Rowan McCallum, Rylan Coyne, Samantha Rice, Sammy Howard, Sophia Cauwels, Stuart Doyle, Timothy Mitchell and William Strader.
July/August 2022
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools announced six award winners on April 28: • Aisha Howard of McDougle Elementary School received the Principal of the Year Award. • Lucas Paulsen of Carrboro High School received the Assistant Principal of the Year Award. • Emily Duncan, math teacher at Chapel Hill High School, received the Jeanette Blackwell Mentor Teacher Award. • Emily Giardina, CTE Fashion Design teacher at Carrboro High School, received the Promising New Teacher Award. • Debby Atwater, director of digital learning and libraries, and Tim Gibson, executive director of elementary schools, were each honored as Central Office Administrators of the Year. East Chapel Hill High School junior Pristine Onuoha was announced
a finalist in the Genes in Space competition in May for her experiment design on the impact of stem cell development on astronaut telomere dynamics. The winner of the national competition will have their experiment conducted on the International Space Station. Tammy Allred,
a thoracic and interventional pulmonary oncology nurse navigator at UNC Health, was honored
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On March 27, the 32nd annual Pauli Murray Award was given to two individuals and one organization demonstrating outstanding service to the community. Laila Bradford, winner of the adult category and pictured above, works for Chapel Hill-Carrboro
Compiled by Natalie Huschle and Brooke Spach
PHOTO BY DANNY LEVENSON
WHAT AN HONOR
WHAT WE’VE HEARD AROUND TOWN …
Send us your noteworthy moments! From births to awards to new biz and more – noted@ chapelhill magazine.com