Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
20 <br /> b. Re-naming the New Orange County Environmental Agricultural Center (EAC) to <br /> the Orange County Bonnie B. Davis Environmental and Agricultural Center <br /> The Board discussed re-naming the new Orange County Environmental Agricultural <br /> Center (EAC) to the Orange County Bonnie B. Davis Environmental and Agricultural Center. <br /> Bonnie Hammersley reviewed the following background: <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> Bonnie B. Davis joined the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in the 1950's. Bonnie <br /> retired from Orange County Cooperative Extension Department in 1990 after over 40 years as <br /> the Family & Consumer Sciences Agent. She died on July 27, 2018. <br /> • Bonnie B. Davis was appointed the first Orange County "colored" Home Demonstration <br /> Agent (now known as Family and Consumer Sciences Agent), a job she retained for 40 <br /> years. <br /> • Bonnie B. Davis leadership strengths served as a foundation to facilitate racial <br /> integration in the Orange County Extension office. Her positive attitude spread among <br /> 4-H youth, home demonstration club members (better known now as Extension & <br /> Community Association), and Extension employees. <br /> • Bonnie B. Davis drove to rural parts of the County to help youth practice demonstrations <br /> for 4-H short courses. Ms. Davis believed that everyone, regardless of where they <br /> started in life, could excel given the right opportunity, the necessary training and <br /> resources. <br /> • Bonnie B. Davis displayed her steadfastness when she returned from maternity leave in <br /> 1956. The new courthouse had opened with a kitchen for the use of white agents and <br /> their clubs, but no facilities for the black agents and their clubs. Mrs. Davis resisted this <br /> injustice and worked with the County Commissioners and others resulting in a new <br /> addition at the corner of Court and King Streets for the use of agricultural extension. <br /> • Bonnie B. Davis was a founding member of Friends of Department of Social Services <br /> and the Women of Distinction Extension Club. She was an active member of the Mars <br /> Hill Extension Club and other Extension Clubs and these clubs have served as the <br /> community connection for the NC Cooperative Extension FCS program for years. <br /> • Bonnie B. Davis was the Chairperson for the Board of Social Services, was a founding <br /> member of Orange Congregations in Mission, a member of the Regional Library Board <br /> of Trustee, and was an active board member of the Orange County Literacy Council. <br /> • Bonnie B. Davis received many state and local awards and was a recipient of the <br /> Orange County Pauli Murray award in 2000. <br /> • Bonnie B. Davis was a lifelong active member of Delta Sigma Theta and the Links Inc. <br /> She was a devoted member of Mount Bright Baptist Church for over 70 years, serving <br /> as a Deaconess, Co-Chair of the Kitchen Committee and the Christian Education Board. <br /> In memoriam and appreciation of Bonnie B. Davis, the proposal to rename the new Orange <br /> County Environmental Agricultural Center (EAC) to the Orange County Bonnie B. Davis <br />