The Weaver Awards
Wilkes County 2025
Congratulations to the 2025 Wilkes Weaver Awardees!
Some people weave our communities together. They are the ones we all trust, the people we count on to get things done and to see the best in everyone. They weave a strong social fabric that makes us proud of where we live. Here’s our chance to recognize and celebrate the weavers of Wilkes County.
What are Weaver Awards?
We all know neighbors who show up, again and again, to make our community better. They seem to know everyone. They inspire us to support each other. They see a need and fill it. They often don’t have big titles or receive grants for their work. We count on them and yet we rarely celebrate how important they are to us.
The Wilkes Weaver Awards show our appreciation and give them up to $5000 each to complete projects that weave a tighter community. A group of Wilkes community advocates reviewed all the applications and selected 21 people who are bringing neighbors together in mutual support.
The Aspen Institute in Washington, DC, designed the Weaver Awards as a way to heal the divides in our country and help us build trust in each other from the ground up.
Meet the Awardees
Angie Church
Millers Creek
Angie Church is a teacher at West Wilkes High School, where she advises the student council and its Blackhawk Buddies program. This student-led mentorship program partners high schoolers with elementary students to form friendships that boost self-esteem, inspire confidence, and build community.
Anna Garner
Wilkesboro and beyond
Anna Garner moved to Wilkes as the pandemic was starting. With expertise in healing arts, such as massage, she builds community through self-care, organizing dance and music classes for children and their caregivers, hosting tea tasting ceremonies where people share stories, and helping women feel comfortable in their bodies.
Ben Harbour
North Wilkesboro and beyond
Ben Harbour is coach and team director for the mountain bike racing team and club WilCo Wolves, which brings kids and families together through cycling. He’ll use the Weaver Award to ensure more kids and families in Wilkes discover the joy of the sport, explore the county’s natural beauty, and build community through riding.
Candie Greer
Boomer-Ferguson
Candie Greer knows firsthand the struggles of families living in poverty. She started Project Beyond to help those in some of the most challenged parts of Wilkes County through literacy initiatives, career development workshops, and mentorship programs. The support gives people tools and encouragement to break out of poverty.
Clay Gill
North Wilkesboro and beyond
Clay Gill realized as an adult that he is autistic and also has ADHD. Through coaching and consulting, he works to help others understand and support neurodivergent people. He will use the Award to run interactive workshops for educators, employers, families, and neighbors to foster a more inclusive and accepting community.
Connie Lewallen
North Wilkesboro and beyond
As a parent with young kids whose life didn’t center around church, Connie Lewallen found building connections with other families challenging. So she created Stellar Minds, a free monthly gathering where parents and kids meet, play, and form friendships. She will use the Award to enhance the creativity of these events.
Courtney Anderson
North Wilkesboro
Courtney Anderson teaches fourth grade science at Mulberry Elementary School and aims to be the type of mentor that she once needed. She will use the Award to turn her classroom into a hands-on learning environment for science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) and bring in local scientists for inspiration.
Donna Hill
Wilkesboro and beyond
As an animal lover, Donna Hill is working to bring her community together around supporting dog owners who are most in need. She co-founded Wilkes Rescue Group and will use her Award to help dogs and their owners through its Off the Chain initiative.
Erica Marsh and Holly Piotrowski
Wilkesboro
Erica Marsh and Holly Piotrowski started The Book Room in Wilkesboro, a bookshop and community hub for storytelling. Their Voices of Home Project is publishing poems, short stories, art, and photographs from Wilkes residents. They’ll also use the Award to host reading groups, writing workshops, and storytelling celebrations.
Greta Ferguson
North Wilkesboro
Greta Ferguson is a founding member and Community Coach for Wilkes Circles of Care, which fights poverty and fosters connection for families. She will use her Award to expand programs for young people, particularly the Culinary and Educational Connection program for teens, and to grow the group’s childcare services.
Heather Williams and Kim Holleman
Western Wilkes
Growing up, Heather Williams and Kim Holleman built their most meaningful friendships playing in the park. Yet parks are scarce in Western Wilkes, so they will use the Award to support the inclusive playground and park they are building as a gathering place for all kids, regardless of physical, emotional, or social challenges.
Jessica Ferguson
Eastern Wilkes County
Jessica Ferguson is a music teacher in Wilkes County Schools who uses drum circles to teach children about community. She will use her Award to complete her set of drums so classes of up to 26 students can experience West African music and how synchronized breathing and drumming create connection and belonging.
Laken Harrold
Hays
Laken Harrold is a social worker at Mountain View Elementary and North Middle, which face growing student absenteeism. She will use her Award to run family programs, offer financial assistance, and provide incentives for students and teachers that can increase engagement with school and support more consistent attendance.
Laurie Brintle-Jarvis
Wilkesboro and beyond
Laurie Brintle-Jarvis knows firsthand that rural business owners face many challenges that their urban counterparts don’t encounter. She will use her Award to increase the meetings of the Wilkes Entrepreneur Network, offer grants to entrepreneurs, and provide Small Business Center training and coaching.
Lorelei Harris
North Wilkesboro
Lorelei Harris loves the summer in North Wilkesboro when the town puts on a series of public concerts to bring folks together. But the town falls silent during winter and spring. She will use her Award to organize free music events during those slow months, providing spaces and occasions for people to meet and maintain connections.
Misty McGuire Case
Wilkesboro and beyond
Misty McGuire Case recognized that many in Wilkes County hadn’t been exposed to construction and farming equipment. She will use her Award to support Touch A Truck Wilkes, an event where trade professionals showcase their skills, equipment, and stories, fostering community connection for both children and adults.
Rebekah Franklin
North Wilkesboro and beyond
Rebekah Franklin will use her background in the restaurant industry to address hunger in Wilkes County, where over 18% of the population is food insecure. She will use her Award to support The Change Wagon, a pay-as-you-can food truck that provides delicious food and invites customers to have conversations with one another.
Rosanna Limón-Reyes
Wilkesboro and beyond
Rosanna Limón-Reyes is a cultural liaison for Wilkes County schools and helps new immigrants build bonds with their neighbors and feel welcomed. She will use her Award to organize a new edition of the CultureFest, an event that brings folks together to celebrate the diversity of the students and their families.
Victoria Villalpando
Wilkesboro and beyond
Victoria Villalpando is an entrepreneur who uses storytelling and business coaching to spread financial independence and success to others. She will use her Award to launch Let’s Talk About It, a podcast and workshop series highlighting and serving the diverse voices, cultures, and talents in Wilkes County.
The Advisors
Tiger Posey
Parks And Recreation Assistant Director
Thomas Salley
Director, Wilkesboro Tourism Development Authority
Francisco Martinez
EDC Marketing Director
Takiyah McCathern
Assistant Principal
Luke Jarvis
Director, Wilkes Youth Life Development (WYLD)
Kristyn Feldman
Weave Director
Elizabeth Conrad
Community Advocate
Belinda Marino
Community Advocate
Greg Brady
Community Advocate
Gary Buffaloe
Wilkesboro Baptist Church
Tina Krause
Director, Hospitality House
Meet Past Awardees
Past Awardees come from across Wilkes County and are connecting and supporting their neighborhoods in a huge range of ways. Some help young people become leaders, others tie students and their families more closely to school through sports. Some make immigrant families feel welcome, others turn a library into a bustling community hub, while still others provide food and childcare to struggling families. All work with neighbors to build a sense of belonging, mutual support, and pride in their community. Some Awardees have appeared in local papers or on radio and TV.
Get Involved as a Weaver
Join with others who care about building trust and community in Wilkes by participating in the Weave Wilkes online group. You’ll meet other weavers, be invited to gatherings, get updates on the Weaver Awards, and find resources, partners, and opportunities to learn weaving skills. You’ll join with neighbors and also meet weavers from communities across the country. It takes just a few minutes to register and become connected to a wealth of people, stories, and resources.
Contact Us
If you have questions about the Awards, want to partner, or have issues using this website, let us know. If you want to learn more about weavers across the US, visit weavers.org