Donna Phillips is the recipient of a 2024 Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service, North Carolina’s highest volunteer honor.
Phillips, the director of the Wayne County Public Library, was one of 20 honorees from across the state recognized in a ceremony held at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh on May 6.
Phillips was presented with the award’s signature medallion, pin, and certificate by the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service Chair Rev. Dr. Joe Blosser, Executive Director S. Briles Johnson, and Volunteerism Coordinator Kenneth McLellan.
The Medallion Award was introduced in 2006 to recognize the top volunteers in the state. The award certificate, signed by Gov. Roy Cooper, denotes recognition and “appreciation for distinguished volunteer service to the people and the State of North Carolina.” One Medallion Award nomination is permitted per county. A statewide panel reviews and evaluates the nominations to choose 20-25 award recipients.
Phillips was selected as Wayne County’s nominee from those honored with the Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards in April. The annual awards, provided by the Commission and coordinated by the United Way of Wayne County, acknowledge individuals, groups, and businesses that make a significant contribution to their community.
During the Medallion ceremony, Blosser emphasized that the recipients are “people who really know the community.” They are “people that see the depth of commitment and the work that we all have to do cooperatively,” he said. “Together, we are building a movement for service … we are a strong state when we serve together,” Blosser said. “You are our North Star here in our great North State.”
Phillips is a lifelong volunteer who has been honored for her service to many organizations, including United Way of Wayne County with its Emil Rosenthal Volunteer of the Year Award in 2018 and the Spirit of North Carolina Award from United Way of North Carolina in 2023.
“While Donna admits to only around five hours of pure volunteer time each week, it is hard to separate what is personal giving from her role at the library. In both capacities, she works to provide the best for her community. Her drive to serve is twisted into her DNA,” Phillips’ nomination stated. “Just as the library is a resource to which members of the community turn for everything from details on local history to insight on telling misinformation from the truth, so too is its director such an asset,” the nomination said.
Phillips is included in projects ranging from the Our State, Our Work initiative to connect young adults to living wage employment opportunities to a Creative Aging project with the local arts council that provides arts education programs to older adults.
Another community collaboration that Phillips and the library continue to support is the WAGES Stephen and Susan Parr Family Learning Center in Dudley.
The Parr Center was sparked by a conversation between Phillips and former United Way Director Stephen Parr about the literacy needs in the southern portion of Wayne County. Much cooperative effort, grants, and donations made it a reality. It has operated since 2022 with continued input and contributions from local agencies and organizations.
“Nothing happens in this county without connections,” Phillips said. “People want each other to succeed. We have to put our arms around each other.”
Phillips is active in many organizations and holds or has held leadership positions in most. They include:
United Way of Wayne County – current member of the board of directors and chair of the Community Investment Committee, and past president;
Wayne County Chamber of Commerce – current member of its Wayne Education Network Action Committee;
Goldsboro Rotary Club – current board member and co-advisor for Goldsboro Interact Club, past president;
Partnership for Children of Wayne County – current board member;
NC Community Foundation – Wayne County Affiliate – current board member;
Wayne County Public Schools Business Advisory Council – current member;
Literacy Connections of Wayne County – member of the Fund-Raising Committee and volunteers at events such as the annual Read Between the Wines;
Wayne County Library Foundation – current secretary/treasurer;
NC Public Library Directors Association – board member, former president, former designated member of the NC Public Librarian Certification Committee; and
First Baptist Church of Goldsboro – active member, former lay reader, and Sunday School teacher.
Phillips regularly works with organizations in which she has no leadership role, such as WAGES (Wayne Action Group for Economic Solvency) and Habitat for Humanity of Wayne County. One example is that although not a member, she volunteers with the Goldsboro Kiwanis Club on its miniature train as the “rule enforcer” in the “caboose” and supports its literacy program by connecting children who read 12 books with a booklet of passes for the miniature train.
“I am grateful to United Way of Wayne County for nominating me for the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, and I am deeply honored to have been selected as a recipient of the Medallion Award for Volunteer Service,’ Phillips said. “I believe serving one another is what each of us is called to do. From a young age my family impressed upon me the importance of sharing with others, my faith tradition taught me that to serve others is to serve my creator, and throughout my life I was fortunate to have personal and professional mentors who modeled for me the value of placing others before oneself,” she said. “It is indeed a privilege to live and serve alongside the thousands of other volunteers who call Wayne County home.”
“I commend the Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service and Governor Cooper for choosing to honor Donna Phillips with the Medallion Award for Volunteer Service,” said Sherry Archibald, United Way of Wayne County executive director. “She is the epitome of volunteerism, not only working diligently for the good of others herself but also enabling others to help their community. Donna is an excellent representative of all in Wayne County who gives so selflessly.”
