Individual

Father David McBriar, Franciscan Friar, Order of Friars Minor, Holy Name Province, Raleigh
For 18 years Father McBriar has engaged the hearts, minds and spirits of people to improve the Triangle Region as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church, Raleigh, and then as pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, Durham. He inspires people to challenge the status quo and to use their unique gifts to address issues in the Triangle. He has built relationships with Jewish, Muslim, and other Christian faith to dialogue and work together. He helped create Durham Congregations, Associations, and Neighborhoods (Durham CAN) to address community problems such as housing, education, jobs and health. David, along with his Franciscan Brothers, opened his church to the growing Latino community in Durham and lobbied for this immigrant community with the police department to provide Spanish speaking 911 operators, and with the city to crack down on slum landlords. He was one of the leaders in the Farm Labor Organizing Committee in Durham to boycott Mount Olive Pickle Company because of their contracts with cucumber growers who had unfair labor practices. David was the vision behind the Emily Krzyzewski Family Life Center to build better futures for children and families. In Raleigh, he was instrumental in supporting Passage Home, a transitional housing project for the homeless, for families and women offenders. He also worked to build support for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle and Meals on Wheel's new facility. David embodies social justice. He is the epitome of a "bridge builder" among every sector of the Triangle society.

Elected Official

Bill Strom, Chapel Hill Mayor Pro Tem and Town Council Member
During his six years as a Chapel Hill Town Council member, Bill Strom has worked hard to foster inter-regional cooperation. He has a strong focus on transportation and currently serves as treasurer of the Triangle Transit Authority board, and represents TTA at the Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization. Bill's efforts are reflected in new express service from Raleigh to Durham and Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. This year, Strom took a leadership role in an inter-governmental collaboration among Orange County, Durham County, the City of Durham and the Town of Chapel Hill to jointly purchase nearly 100 acres known as Erwin Trace and preserve them as parkland for future generations to enjoy. Bill has been a strong voice in the region for housing equity, and has collaborated on affordable housing policy initiatives through the Triangle J Council of Governments. Bill chairs Chapel Hill's Downtown Economic Development Initiative, which is spearheading an $80-million public/private development project. This fall, Bill saw first-hand the importance of regional planning and cooperation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, when he and his wife Jennifer, a journalist at The Independent Weekly, spent a week volunteering with the animal rescue effort along the Gulf Coast.

Organizations

Child Care Services Association
Sue Russell, President
For 31 years Child Care Services Association has worked to ensure affordable, accessible, high quality child care for all children and their families in the Triangle region. Founded in 1974, two independent organizations, Day Care Services Association and Durham Day Care Council, joined forces to form Child Care Services Association in 1999. Through the years, the agency has grown and developed innovative programs and services to meet the changing needs of Triangle families and child care providers. In response to an urgent request to fill a gap in child care referral services and professional support in Wake County, Child Care Services Association opened its newest location in Raleigh in 2004. Last year, 4,695 families across the Triangle benefited from child care referral services. Child Care Services Association has exemplified regional collaboration and leadership, whether helping a family find child care or providing technical assistance to child care providers, the organization has been a champion on behalf of the Triangle's children for over three decades.

Inter-Faith Food Shuttle
Jill Staton Bullard, Co-Founder and Executive Director
Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (IFFS) rescues unused and unsellable food from hundreds of Triangle locations and then distributes it to Triangle organizations who feed the hungry. In 1989, out of the back of a station wagon, it was birthed, taking in 670 pounds of recovered food. In 2004, the IFFS recovered over 4.2 million pounds of food and distributed it to over 200 non-profits agencies and individuals! Recipient agencies include a wide array of service providers from shelters and soup kitchens in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill to out reach efforts at Raleigh Housing Authorities communities, El Centro Latino in Carrboro and pantries as far away as Smithfield. IFFS connects food sources to hungry people, creating a network of providers that keeps good food from going to landfills. They not only feed folks, they train the hungry to feed themselves through Culinary Job Training Program, offering classes to under employed men and women with culinary skills and life skills counseling. Volunteers across the Triangle contribute 45,000 hours each year to this outstanding regional organization.

View more photos!