Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
RES -2025- 052 g - r V ( Dl7 /vZS <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> Resolution Naming Cedar Grove Park Athletic Field # 1 as the <br /> " Coach Willie Lawrence Vanhook Athletic Field " <br /> WHEREAS , Willie Lawrence Vanhook ( born 1932 ) is widely known and respected as a <br /> civic leader , Civil Rights advocate , successful tobacco farmer , volunteer 41,* H leader and <br /> church trustee , both in his beloved Cedar Grove community and throughout Orange <br /> County ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Willie Lawrence Vanhook achieved success as a leading tobacco farmer in <br /> Cedar Grove , starting out as a sharecropper and finally attaining the ownership of his own <br /> farm ; and <br /> WHEREAS , Mr . Vanhook achieved a major integration breakthrough by becoming one of <br /> the first African American tobacco graders and buyers in the country , starting as a grader <br /> for the burley tobacco markets in Tennessee and Kentucky , and later working as a buyer <br /> for the Universal Leaf Tobacco Company and Phillip Morris , Inc . ; and <br /> WHEREAS , through his leadership , Mr . Vanhook played a leading role in the formation <br /> of the Cedar Grove Recreation Association and started a softball league for youth and <br /> adults , serving as a coach and mentor to a whole generation of athletes ; and <br /> WHEREAS , in appreciation of Mr . Vanhook' s dedication and commitment to his <br /> community , the Cedar Grove Recreation Association has proposed naming the Cedar <br /> Grove Park Athletic Field # 1 as the " Coach Willie Lawrence Vanhook Athletic Field ; " and <br /> WHEREAS , at its Business meeting on September 16 , 2025 , the Board of County <br /> Commissioners stated its intent to name the Cedar Grove Park Athletic Field # 1 to honor <br /> Coach Willie Lawrence Vanhook and provide an appropriate sign and interpretive marker; <br /> NOW, THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED , that the Orange County Board of <br /> Commissioners does hereby name the Cedar Grove Park Athletic Field # 1 to be the <br /> " Coach Willie Lawrence Vanhook Athletic Field . " <br /> This the 7th day of October , 2025 . <br /> Ja ezett edford , C air <br /> Orange County Board of Commissioners . <br /> ATT <br /> `U� Cnd� <br /> 7 <br /> g fi j� <br /> Laura Jense Jerk to the Board � 3 � l <br /> aa YS" <br /> "'baaw I <br />