Marshall Stewart is a native of rural, eastern North Carolina. As the son of a minister, he had the opportunity to live in Bladen, Pitt, Nash and Sampson counties as a young person. He attended East Carolina University for two years before completing his undergraduate (BS '86) and graduate degrees (MS "93; Ed.D. "03) from NC State University.

Billy Ray Hall is a longtime champion of rural North Carolina. As president of the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center since its inception in 1987, Hall has guided the center’s work on behalf of the state’s 85 rural counties with the mission of improving quality of life for all North Carolinians.

Many years ago Robin Hayes made the decision to invest his life in God through service to others. Robin is President, Cannon Charitable Trust and a Director of the Cannon Foundation.

Robin served in the U.S House of Representatives from 1998 - 2009 where he was a member of the Armed Services, Agriculture, and Transportation committees.

Created by the General Assembly in 1961, and administered by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the award recognizes significant contributions of individuals in the fields of fine arts, literature, public service, and science over time. Since 1964, more than 250 North Carolinians have received the prestigious award.

Mary Catherine Hinds,

Associate Regional Director, Southeast Region, Church World Service

Rep. Folwell is a fourth term Representative in the NC House. He is also Speaker Pro Tempore of the House. He is from Winston-Salem, NC and has BS and MA from the University of North Carolina. He is a graduate of the NC Institute of Political Leadership.

Gail Perry, MBA, CFRE, is a leader in a new breed of fundraisers.  She is the best-selling author of Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action (Wiley).  Her Fired-Up Fundraising

Dr. Marchionini discusses the information age.

William E. Leuchtenburg is the William Rand Kenan, Jr. professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He taught history in universities for 56 years, especially 30 years at Columbia and 20 years in North Carolina. He holds a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Before entering public service, Perdue worked as a public school teacher, as director of geriatric services at a community hospital in her hometown of New Bern, and earned a Ph.D. in Education Administration. Governor Perdue has also served in the State House, State Senate and as Lieutenant Governor for 8 years She serves as the 73rd Governor of North Carolina