The North Carolina Poultry Federation has named Cowan Johnson of House of Raeford Farms as their president for 2024-25. The announcement was recently made at the organization’s annual meeting in Greensboro.
Johnson, a seasoned professional with 23 years of service at House of Raeford, a poultry business founded by his grandfather, has been a key figure in the company’s growth.
Cowan Johnson, of House of Raeford Farms, was recently named North Carolina Poultry Federation president for 2024-25. Photo Courtesy House of Raeford Farms
“It is an honor to accept this important role, and I look forward to our federation making great strides over the next year in support of the North Carolina poultry industry,” said Johnson. “I am also pleased to follow in the leadership footsteps of my father and current House of Raeford CEO, Bob Johnson, and my late grandfather, Marvin Johnson, both of whom served as NCPF presidents.”
Johnson, who most recently served as vice-president of NC Poultry Federation, is the president of House of Raeford’s ready-to-cook and further processing divisions, and president of sales. He serves on the corporation’s board of directors and is the operations manager of House of Raeford’s largest ready-to-cook processing location in Wallace. His journey within the company has seen him take on increasing responsibilities in diverse roles. Notably, Johnson also manages his chicken houses, contributing to House of Raeford’s Rose Hill and Wallace processing operations.
In addition to his roles at House of Raeford, Johnson is a member of the National Chicken Council’s board of directors.
Under Johnson’s leadership, the North Carolina Poultry Federation aims to address the industry’s evolving challenges and opportunities, acting as a unified voice for the industry, promoting a favorable business environment for all those involved in the poultry industry in North Carolina.
County Commissioners honor four former county employees with prestigious awards
KENANSVILLE — Davis Brinson, former Duplin County manager, was one of four former county employees honored during the Oct. 7 County Commissioners meeting.
Brinson, who retired on July 31, 2023, after serving in Duplin County for nearly three decades, was presented with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award and a retirement flag.
“Over the years, I enjoyed many successes and achievements but none of it would have been possible without the support of my family and those who served with me. I feel extremely blessed to have been able to serve the people of Duplin County,” Brinson told Duplin Journal.
Davis Brinson, former Duplin County manager, stands in front of the Board of Duplin County Commissioners after being presented with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award and a retirement plaque on Oct. 7. Brinson retired on July 31, 2023, after serving in Duplin County for nearly three decades. Standing on the back are Commissioners Jesse Dowe, Justin Edwards, Dexter Edwards and Wayne Branch. Photo Courtesy Brandi Brinson
Brinson’s roots in local government run deep. His father, grandfather, and mother all played significant roles in government, setting a solid foundation for his civic journey.
He began his journey as a telecommunicator deputy sheriff in 1995, later he served as a social worker with DSS and a probation parole officer with the North Carolina Department of Corrections. In 2000, Brinson was elected Register of Deeds and re-elected five times; during this time, he was honored with the Eunice Ayers Distinguished Service Award, a prestigious recognition in local government. Brinson also served as chairman of District 5 and as the legislative co-chair for the association. After 17 years as Register of Deeds, he was appointed the Duplin County manager. He was involved in the Duplin Rotary Club, Duplin County Agribusiness Council, the Charity Fund, and St. John’s No.13 Masonic Lodge, demonstrating a solid commitment to civic involvement and community service.
“I always enjoyed working with the Board of Commissioners,” said Brinson, adding that he admires the commissioners’ work ethic and how they always seem to find common ground to do what is best for Duplin County. “I like to think that I put a staff in place that left the county in a better place than where we found it, at least financially. I think we have some very strong department heads.”
One by one, the county commissioners thanked the former county manager.
Commissioner Justin Edwards shared a personal memory, “I remember roaming the halls of the courthouse when I was a little boy with my mom and never did I dream that I would have to work with you one day, I was gonna stay at home and farm. I found myself in Kenansville working with you. Thank you for welcoming me onto this board with open arms.”
“Davis and I go way back. I can say I’ve always appreciated the fact that you were genuine, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you upset, which means that you’re a God-fearing man. You walk by faith and not by sight, and that will carry you a long way as you’ve already accomplished a lot,” said Commissioner Wayne Branch.
Chairman Dexter Edwards thanked Brinson adding that his comment about the board working well together was really meaningful, acknowledging that while they are lucky to have a great board, his leadership and efforts made it easy for them to be a united board.
“You’ve done your job to make sure you communicated with each one as they needed to be communicated with, and we didn’t have to come here and have controversy because leadership is where it all starts. We’re elected officials and we come here to try to help advise, but we don’t run the county,” said Edwards. “I really thank you for what you’ve done for this county.”
Brinson shared that since retiring, he has been able to spend a lot of time with his family and travel.
“During the past few months, I have been able to spend a lot of time helping my wife by managing her re-election campaign as Franklin County’s Register of Deeds,” Brinson told Duplin Journal.
Maddie Elizabeth Batts, who served Duplin County for 30 years, was also honored during the meeting and was presented with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award. Batts is known for her advocacy role at the senior center and dedication to serving others.
Neal Mobley, who has worked in Emergency Services for over 30 years, including four years with Duplin County, was honored with the Order of the Longleaf Pine and a retirement plaque. Mobley was recognized for his mentorship and commitment to the citizens of Duplin County.
Patricia Williams was presented with the Old North State Award for her exceptional dedication and service to North Carolina. Williams retired last December after serving for more than 30 years, 25 of those years she worked in Duplin County. Williams served with the Board of Elections, Veteran Services and the town of Rose Hill.
The next county commissioners meeting will be on Monday, Oct. 21.
WALLACE — In Emily Ludlum’s River Landing home, there hangs a painting of five men gathered around a red pickup truck. Those men were from western North Carolina, and came to Wallace to help victims of Hurricane Florence in 2018.
“Fast-forward six years, two of them were part of the disaster in western North Carolina,” Ludlum said. “Six years ago, they came as strangers when we needed help, and we ended up helping them.”
Ludlum and her friends, Melissa Blizzard Stevens and Jennifer Johnson, along with several other residents of the River Landing community, have mobilized and organized in the weeks since Hurricane Helene devastated the NC mountains to do their part to provide food, water, clothing, generators and lots of love and support to those who need it most.
It all started with a lemonade stand that their children put together every year. The kids decided to donate the proceeds from this year’s lemonade stand to the victims of Hurricane Helene.
“They ended up raising $3,500,” Ludlum said.
“That was what started everything, that initial run,” she explained. “With the $3,500, we purchased seven generators.”
Friend Georgia Farrior scoured the internet and found the best spots to go to deliver the generators and supplies.
“We decided to go to the remote, hard-to-reach places where no one was getting supplies,” Ludlum said.
Their first stops were Hendersonville, Fruitland and Hooper’s Creek.
“There was desperation there,” Stevens recalled. “They needed whatever they could get.”
Johnson’s parents live in the area, and helped to guide the team in and out of precarious places where the roads were closing or collapsing rapidly.
“It was vital, I think, having someone local,” Stevens said. “We needed someone we could trust. They were counting on us, and we were counting on them.”
Ludlum and Stevens shared their trips through Facebook posts. “The Facebook posts were a way of showing just how bad it is,” Stevens said, “but also to show these people where their money was going.”
“We wanted people to believe us, trust us, and see that the job was being done,” Ludlum said.
Things changed so quickly that the group had one destination in mind when they left, but the next morning, it had changed, because the needs had changed.
She recalled the second trip they took, they went to Newland. “It was chaotic,” she said. “One of the things we learned was to push further. Don’t go to the first place you get to because everyone’s already been there. So we said, ‘OK, get us further in.’ One of [Jennifer’s] family friends took us deep in, to a place called Spear. When we got there, there was so much destruction and devastation, houses completely gone. All you saw was the footprint of the foundation, the river just full of cars and houses and mangled, tangled mess.”
Not only did they drop off supplies, they stopped and talked and prayed with the people right in the middle of the mess.
“I just wanted them to know that eastern North Carolina was supporting them, and we were bringing them things and just to stay strong,” Ludlum added.
Johnson told the story of one single-wide trailer, in which 10 people lived. The side of the mountain came down on top of them, and they all perished. Then there was a woman whose house had flooded, and she and her family were stuck in their attic, she said. “They got to the farthest point in the attic where they could get, and she sat down with her kids, and she prayed, ‘Dear Lord, I just pray that you let them die fast, because I don’t want them to suffer.’ Somehow, they were able to cut themselves out of the roof.”
That was the town of Spear, which Ludlum said they thought would be their last drop-off trip. “Spear was the one where we thought we were slowing down, and thought, let’s pass this to someone else, but when we got back from Spear, the donations started rolling in, and we just said Melissa’s mantra. Her mantra this whole time has been ‘There’s a need, we go.’ And so, we go.”
The team also learned of a hospice center in Spruce Pine, where 30 patients were using battery-operated oxygen tanks, and desperately needed electricity to use their regular oxygen tanks. Ludlum remembers telling the hospice nurse that they would take care of it and hung up the phone. “At that point, we were out of generators,” Ludlum recalled. “We did not know where to get any from. We did not have enough money to get more than probably two. Within five minutes, I get a phone call saying the shipment of generators we’ve been waiting on have been delivered. Twenty generators. I said, ‘OK, let’s figure out how to pay for them.’ So I put a Facebook post up and said there’s an urgent need. By 10:30, we had 10 generators, 10 kerosene heaters, 10 drop cords, 10 kerosene jugs loaded and ready to go for her.”
She pointed out that Jamie Duff from Island Creek Outdoor Products has provided them with high-quality Generac generators at cost.
“Everyone has a God-given talent and they are using it in the best of ways,” Johnson said. “It’s like it all just comes together.”
Next up for the group is a trip Oct. 19-20 to Newland, where they plan to feed the entire community breakfast, lunch and dinner for two days. They’re also collecting coats and winter gear, and will have those available for folks to pick and choose what they want and need.
“This all started with our kids dreaming big,” Ludlum said.
Their experience with Florence also helped ingrain in them the desire to help, Stevens said. “We’ve felt that kind of devastation. We know what it is to cry for two weeks.”
The ladies have no plans of slowing down their relief efforts either, even after eight trips, 31 generators delivered and 14 stops.
“The mountains are calling,” Stevens said, “and so we go.”
ROSE HILL — A meeting room in the Rose Hill Restaurant was packed Friday afternoon for a visit from gubernatorial candidate and current Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson. The crowd heard a speech from Robinson, and were able to meet with him briefly for photos and autographs afterward.
NC Rep. Jimmy Dixon, who represents Duplin and Wayne counties in the state legislature, introduced Robinson, saying the two became friends about six years ago. “That friendship has increased and intensified over the years,” Dixon said. “I consider myself a good friend of Mark Robinson.”
When it was his turn to speak, Robinson asked for prayers for the folks of western North Carolina and said he was focused on making sure hurricane survivors are ready for the winter and also ready to vote in November.
“I want to clear up a few misconceptions that’s floating around out there,” he said, referring to what he called “great big fat whopper lies” from Democrats and the news media. “If anyone asks you if Mark Robinson voted for the funding that the Senate passed on Wednesday, tell them Mark Robinson presided over the Senate while it was being passed. I was actually there. The vote that they talked about me missing was nothing more than a ceremonial vote of the Council of State.”
He also admitted that two of his staff members quit after a CNN report alleging Robinson’s controversial statements on a porn website. But Robinson said the campaign was better without them. He hinted at a lawsuit against CNN, which his campaign formally announced on Sunday.
“For an elected official, I have said some outlandish things,” he said. “I don’t back off of the things I say, folks. But I’m not going to back up and cower when somebody tries to say that I said something that I did not say. I’m not going to take it lying down.”
Robinson said people call him “mean” and “arrogant.” “It’s time for us to stop focusing on personalities, people being nice,” he said.
He ended his speech by encouraging folks to vote Republican.
After meeting with his supporters for photos, Robinson spoke with Duplin Journal specifically about the county and what it needs at the state level.
“The number one thing we have to do, and this applies to just about everything in the state, I think people underestimate the importance of us staying fiscally responsible,” he said. “Being fiscally responsible and remaining fiscally responsible and … having the money we need, we can come to places like Duplin County and identify places of growth so that we can make investments. And that’s what we need to be doing at the state level. We don’t need to be spending money on projects just because we have the money or think a project would be a ‘good idea.’ We need to make investments to help those places continue to grow. I think that’s the number one and number two things we can always do to help counties like Duplin.”
He said he sees the biggest challenge facing counties like Duplin as “climate change extremists that want to take away the implements and some of the materials that farmers need to be able to continue to do what they need to do.”
He added that rural, agricultural counties also need to find industries that can help farmers and help the farm base grow. “One of those, I believe, is pharmaceuticals from agricultural products,” he told Duplin Journal. “I think one great idea would be to take some of those agricultural products and cultivate them right here in counties like Duplin and then build facilities right here in Duplin County, manufacturing facilities that can turn those into the products we desperately need.”
“Each individual county in this state has its own unique set of standards and its own unique perspectives and there’s great things about all of them,” he added. “With Duplin County, I think the thing that sets it apart is the pride of the people.”
Robinson summed up by saying he’s running to be a “servant leader.”
“We want to partner with the people of Duplin County, and the people of North Carolina and leave it a better place than we found it.”
WALLACE — The Wallace Town Council meeting Thursday night was packed with residents of Plantation Acres, a community that borders the new proposed Royal Farms gas station development at the corner of Highways 41 and 11 in the Tin City area of Wallace. The residents were unanimously against the council granting a rezoning request to Two Farms, the owners of Royal Farms, which would change the zoning from residential to highway business-conditional.
Despite protests from the Plantation Acres residents, the council unanimously approved the rezoning request.
The request has been on the council’s agenda for several months, after being postponed once due to a tropical storm and secondly, after Two Farms requested more time.
“Conditions include — and this is what they will not put in on the list of things that are permitted in HB — adult uses, alcoholic beverages or packaged retail resales, no bars, no distilleries or breweries, no electronic gaming operations, no event centers, no hospitals, no hotels or motels, no mail order houses, no manufacturing complexes, no motor fuel vehicle stations, no nightclubs, no outlet sales, no parking as principled use, no personal vehicle sales, no petroleum product storage or distribution, no recycling materials collection center, no research facility, no transit passenger terminal and no transit lots,” explained the town’s planning director, Rod Fritz. “The other items that are approved on the list of HB are the ones that could potentially be there: professional offices, retail space.”
Brent Whitfield, a resident of Plantation Acres, stated that residents have no concerns with the gas station going on that corner, but they are concerned that Two Farms has asked for the additional six acres to be rezoned. “It’s been my concern that this is a bit backwards,” he said. “You’re telling us what it’s not going to be. You’re saying this is what it not’s going to be, hoping that this will comfort us and assure you that this will protect us.”
Plantation Acres resident Thomas Stracuzza stated, “As a resident, it benefits me zero. If you were living on Washington Circle, would you want to rezone that property that’s already zoned residential? I don’t think you would.”
Residents Sherry Aramini and Carl Fussell expressed concerns about traffic and a buffer between them and the property, while Sally Whitfield talked about drainage concerns.
In an attempt to allay those concerns, Randy Royal, engineer for the project with Kimley-Horn and Associates, showed a map of the proposed zoning, sharing where traffic patterns would change and where a retention pond would go. “If you have problems with drainage now, you should have less problems in the future,” he said. “There will be nothing from this site going on to your site.”
Sam Frank, representing Two Farms, also explained that the retention pond would be nothing like a hog lagoon, which one resident had said might be the case. “HB makes sense for this site, with or without conditions,” he said. “It is a logical zoning for that parcel.”
Once the public hearing closed, Councilman Frank Brinkley stated that he has patronized many Royal Farms facilities in other communities, and he felt confident that it would be a clean site. “I think it’s going to be better than what’s there now,” he said.
Councilman Jason Davis also spoke up, saying that he understood the residents’ pain, but he felt Two Farms had worked with them and compromised. “I can’t sit here and say no, because there has been give and compromise. In fact, I think we have come to a very, very good compromise.”
The council then voted unanimously to approve the rezoning request.
In other business at the Oct. 10 meeting:
The council unanimously approved a request from Wilmer Cruz to rezone a portion of his property on Maple Street so that he could add on to his home.
The council set a public hearing for the Nov. 14 meeting for an annexation request from Avery-Davis Investments of Knightdale for 2.66 acres in Pender County.
Town Manager Rob Taylor was sworn in as the temporary finance director and deputy tax collector.
The council adopted a resolution to finance three town vehicles for $105,800.
A capital project amendment was approved for the fiscal year 2023-24.
The town manager presented a capital improvement plan to the council for their consideration. Action will be taken on the plan at a future meeting.
Town Clerk Jackie Nicholson requested that the council re-codify its town ordinances, which have all been recently updated. As new ordinances are approved, they will be posted on the town website and eventually added to a book that Nicholson created.
The council approved the purchase of a trailer for the fire department, which will be donated to the fire association.
Police Captain Weston Padgett shared information about his time in the FBI National Academy recently.
KENANSVILLE — Members of the Duplin County Board of Education made their feelings known about state-required accountability testing at their Oct. 1 meeting.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s accountability results for the 2023-24 school year were announced Sept. 4. Although Duplin County Schools are no longer designated as a low-performing district, the individual schools had mixed accountability grades, with only one school, Duplin Early College High School, earning a B, while six schools earned Cs, three were graded D, and three got Fs.
After a presentation of the results to the school board, Board Vice Chair Reginald Kenan stated, “We talk about this all the time and it’s very complex and confusing how you grade schools.”
He added that he’s frustrated to see people voice support for public schools, and then vote for political candidates who are clearly anti-public schools. “If we believe we want what’s best for our children, then we must support people who support public schools,” Kenan said.
Kenan explained that he hoped that schools would be measured more by growth than by current standards. “I’m not a teacher but I’ve got enough sense to know a child feels empowered when he or she can show some growth in their schooling. If we continue to elect the same old people in Raleigh who are anti-public education, we will deal with this model forever. It’s not fair to our teachers who work hard. These grades do not determine the work that our educators are putting into our children to make them better.”
Board Chairman Brent Davis agreed. “It’s no secret from anyone who knows me, I detest this testing model,” he said. “It’s just a sad perception of what actually goes on in our school system. If you look at every one of these schools, their successes last year are more in growth than there would be in simple proficiency, but unfortunately, we don’t get that benefit by this model. It’s 80% proficiency and 20% growth, is how it’s calculated.”
He called the current testing model “terribly bad for our students, really bad for our staff.”
“I say all the time, you can’t compare a rural school system like Duplin County, where we’ve got 80-plus percent of our students that are economically disadvantaged, with a school system like Wake County or Mecklenburg where they have tons and tons of resources,” Davis added. “Your median household income is two or three times what it is here. It’s just not a comparable model.”
Board Member Pam Edwards also voiced her displeasure with the current testing system, lamenting that teachers in private schools and charter schools don’t have to undergo the same rigorous certification process as public school teachers, yet they’re all lumped together under the state testing model. “They don’t have to teach the same coursework and they don’t have to take the same tests, but yet, we’re compared to them,” Edwards said. “So you have to say hats off to our educators for what they are doing.”
In other business at the Oct. 1 school board meeting, Melisa Brown, Duplin County director of Senior Services, proposed that Duplin County Schools offer free or discounted admission to athletic events for seniors aged 60 and over.
Brown explained that a statewide Senior Tar Heel Discount Card has been revamped into the Senior Tar Heel Athletic Card, giving seniors discounts to athletic events. “The NC Division of Aging is no longer issuing the cards,” she said. “They have pushed it down to the AAAs, and we are part of the local council of the Area Agency on Aging. There are many seniors that are guardians of their grandchildren, so they want to participate in events and sometimes, the admission is more than they can afford.”
Other area counties offer the cards to seniors, and the cards are good for free or discounted admission to high school athletic events.
“In looking at it, I do feel that it would benefit our senior population and we do have a lot of grandparents that are raising children at home,” Edwards stated. “It’s just recently gone up to $10 admission for our high schools.”
After some discussion over whether to offer a 50% discount or make admission free for seniors, Davis suggested that the board table the item until the next meeting. “Don’t get me wrong, this board’s 100% in favor of helping the seniors,” he said. “I think we just need to decide how much we can do. I think it’s really a three-part question: are we going to do 50%, are we going to do 100% and are we going to allow for out-of-county folks, and I think that’s what we really need to do, is go back to the athletic directors and see how that’s going to impact their budgets.”
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