Henry Pryce, right, takes a photo with his friend and former roommate Dr. Jerry McGee. McGee nominated Pryce to the 2019-20 Educators Hall of Fame.[/caption]
Pirate pride was evident in Davie County on Aug. 13, during a special Educators Hall of Fame induction ceremony for East Carolina University alumnus Henry Pryce.
After receiving a letter about the award, Pryce shared the news with his medical care team at Well Care Hospice in Advance.
Kelby Hankins, Pryce’s social worker and an ECU graduate, contacted the College of Education after she saw the ceremony would be in November. She hoped there would be an alternate induction date or ceremony in order to honor Pryce, who was terminally ill.
“He is a lifelong educator and we would like to be able to celebrate this achievement,” Hankins said.
Terah Archie, director of community relations and outreach for the College of Education, worked closely with Hankins and Dr. Jerry McGee, who nominated Pryce for the honor, to organize a special ceremony in Davie County. It was the first time the college had an induction ceremony for an individual off campus.
“I know that he is a proud Pirate and I can’t wait to show him that East Carolina University will never forget their fellow Pirate and to let him experience again the indescribable culture and pride of Pirate Nation,” Hankins said after a new date was set for the ceremony.
Pryce’s family contacted several former coworkers, high school classmates and local ECU alumni to surprise him in the Davie County Senior Center.
McGee, a 1965 graduate of ECU and president emeritus of Wingate University, spoke about his history with Pryce, from growing up in Rockingham to being members of their high school’s Glee Club and becoming roommates at ECU.
[caption id="attachment_38629" align="alignleft" width="595"]
Henry Pryce with his medical social worker Kelby Hankins.[/caption]
“We had a wonderful year together and developed a bond that has lasted really forever,” McGee said.
After telling stories about their lifelong friendship, McGee shared his reason for nominating Pryce for the award. “Certainly, with the record of achievement Henry has as a classroom teacher, as a coach, and later helping keep our students safe, he certainly deserves the recognition that our dear alma mater is placing on him today,” Mc Gee said. “I will say this in closing: that if there was a Hall of Fame for friends, Henry would be a member.”
McGee, along with Sharon Floyd, an ECU alumna and member of the College of Education’s Professional Advisory Board, presented Pryce with a replica of the plaque that hangs on the Educators Hall of Fame honor wall in the Speight building. McGee and Floyd are both past inductees to the Educators Hall of Fame.
Pryce’s plaque reads, “Served as a classroom teacher and coach for a decade before committing his career to the safety of public school students and employees.”
Pryce graduated from ECU in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in geography. He was a classroom teacher and coach for a decade in Davie County before working to develop training standards for school bus drivers, driver education instructors and commercial driving schools. His passion for driver education led him to serve as president of North Carolina’s Passenger Safety Program.
During the ceremony, Hankins’ role in organizing the ceremony wasn’t forgotten. Hankins, who earned a bachelor’s of social work in 2011, joined Pryce on stage. But Hankins wasn’t the only Well Care employee at the ceremony to support Pryce. Several employees showed up sporting purple and gold with fond words for Pryce.
“I can tell you, after 23 years of working in hospice, this is the biggest thing I’ve ever been involved in,” said Diane Merritt, the director of hospice operations with Well Care.
The day after the ceremony, the College of Education learned that Pryce had died. Reflecting on the special ceremony, McGee said, “There are no words. We did a great thing yesterday.”
For more information on the Educators Hall of Fame, visit 
Henry Pryce’s plaque on the Educators Hall of Fame honor wall in the Speight[/caption] CREATIVITY TAKES FLIGHT
ECU sculpture students show work in airport exhibit
ECU art student Jordan Brown applies paint to prepare his sculpture for display at the New Bern airport. Brown’s work has been selected for exhibit twice.
Sculptures by seven East Carolina University art students are on display at the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport for the next year.
A selection committee including airport director Tom Braaten chose the pieces from the 14 submitted in January. Under the supervision of Hanna Jubran, ECU professor of sculpture in the School of Art and Design, students were able to produce pieces of art and gain experience to help their careers take flight.
“When I get out of school, I’ll be able to enter for big city commissions and I’ll know what I’m in for and that’s important,” said Jordan Brown, who had his work selected for a second time. “It gives us an opportunity that we might not ever get.”
The artists were to build a sculpture that can withstand the elements and potential hurricane weather.
They were awarded signage for the piece on display at the airport and $285 to pay for the materials needed to create their sculpture.
ECU sculpture professor Hanna Jubran
“To do something like this is amazing. Somebody can win $1,250 and it gets you involved with how your life may end up being after graduation,” said ECU senior Ethan Morrow.
Morrow created “Model NC,” an airplane constructed in the colors of the North Carolina state flag, with wings designed as an outline of the state’s borders.
All selected pieces convey a concept related to flight. Chris Morgan, an ECU senior and native of New Bern, designed a piece that illustrates wake turbulence, which forms behind an aircraft while in flight. The large-scale piece “Vortex of Flight,” uses vertical and horizontal direction along with the colors of blue, orange, yellow and red to recreate this element of flight.
Morgan said her son served as inspiration for her third exhibition piece. “My son is a Navy jet pilot and flies F/A-18 (fighter jets). I talked to him about the wind currents that occur and he told me about jet wakes.”
Senior sculpture student Jordan Parah used wind as inspiration for “Up, up and away,” a 10-foot representation of hot air balloons. “Wind in the air is a very big part of flight, so I felt that would be a good thing to represent in the sculpture.” The light blue and white in the sculpture represents the wind and the clouds carrying the balloons.
“I’m all about unseen movements of nature, different forces of nature – wind, rain, sun, all the different (ones) – and how they react,” said Parah.
This is the sixth year ECU students have had art featured at the airport.
Pictured above are all the selected works on display in New Bern. Clockwise from left, they are “Flying Luminaries” by Jordan Brown, “Flight” by Hanna Brown, “Falling Leaves” by Gene Gilikin, “Model NC” by Ethan Morrow; “Up, up and away” by Jordan Parah, “Oh, I wish I could fly” by Kimberly Foytlin, and “Vortex of Flight” by Chris Morgan. (Contributed photos)