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Over 50 community leaders and residents attended the first East Kinston Community meeting held on March 14 at Emmanuel Hill Baptist Church. 

Kinston native Lin Dawson (standing above)  shared plans for the Lin Dawson Youth Leadership Academy as well as plans for the proposed Sampson School Community Life Center.

Chief Bill Johnson, Kinston Department of Public Safety provided an overview of programs provided by the KDPS including Project Safe Neighborhood; Crossing Boundaries; the GATE; and the Boys and Girls Club.  Their youth programs are designed to reduce teen pregnancy and increase graduation rates.
Other City of Kinston representatives attending the March 14 meeting included City Manager Tony Sears; and Kinston City Council members Joseph Tyson (Mayor Pro Tem); Sammy Aiken; Robbie Swinson IV and Bobby Merritt; and Roland Davis and Clinton Glover.

NC District 12 Representative George Graham, Jr.  provided a brief overview of activities taking  place in the General Assembly. Representative Graham also distributes a weekly newsletter from his Raleigh office. 

Marcia Perritt provided an overview of the numerous projects that the UNC Community Campus Partnership has provided to Lenoir County including business and strategic planning support; studies along the Martin Luther King Corridor; community assessments and grant writing and support.

Others attending the meeting included faith-based leaders: Allen Bingham (Queen Street United Methodist Church); Deborah Moore-Marshall (Emmanuel Hill Memorial FWB Church); Teddra Hussey (the Episcopal Church); Ernest Fisher (Integrity Ministry); Dr. Malcolm Beech (Eagle News and Cultural Heritage Museum); Ashley Pierce (Self-Help Credit Union); Shawn Wilson (Greater Kinston Credit Union); Maxine Cooper (Greene Lamp Board of Directors); Reesie Williams and Bishop Eartha Mumford (Lincoln City Reunion); Adrian King (Pride of Kinston); Barbara Williams (Lenoir County Department of Social Services); Clarissa Olivia Gooding and Michaela Penix (East Carolina University Graduate Students); and a number of concerned citizens including Audrey Suggs-Chamblee; Claman Chatman; Brenda Stewart; Abdur-Rahim Saleem; Marquetta Brown;  Blain Hargett; Charles W. Cobb, Jr.,  and Kinston Promise volunteers Wakili Moye; Kristal Suggs; Christopher Suggs and Theresa Williams.

The March 14 Meeting was covered by Jonathan Rodriguez for WNCT Channel 9.  Please click on the link below for the story.






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