Miss North Carolina Alexandra Badgett stands with a group of volunteers from Triune Holiness Church at The Filling Station Wednesday. Photo by Junious Smith III / Neuse News

By Junious Smith III

POLLOCKSVILLE — The positive mission continues in Pollocksville.

Wednesday marked the two-year anniversary celebration for The Filling Station, an organization focused on providing unmet spiritual, nutritional and developmental needs of residents in Jones County.  The Filling Station also has tenants such as the Senior Nutrition Program of Jones County DSS — providing 25 meals daily, along with activities for senior citizens — along with Lenoir Community College, the Girl Scouts, a radio club and a women’s shelter.

The Filling Station has been a food pantry for the area, has mentored students and has had more than 75 volunteers log more than 10,000 hours. Volunteers were honored during the celebration, including Edna Murrell.

“This is the closest thing to home and I like volunteering,” Murrell said. “I’ve been volunteering for years and I appreciate what The Filling Station represents to the people in Jones County.”

The Filling Station also served as a beacon of hope during Hurricane Florence. The organization was the only place in Pollocksville without flooding problems and served as a place for disaster relief between mid-September and the remainder of 2018. President Mary Ann LeRay said the organization served people, even though there was no power in the building for a few days.

“We were running with fans, but when people focus on unification anything is possible,” LeRay said. “We all had a common ground, to serve each other. Our biggest prayer every single time is to keep that same spirit alive no matter what’s going on. Disasters will come and go, but if you stay prepared you don’t have to get prepared — that was the real success here, having everything in place so we could meet the needs real fast.”

Jones County Commissioner April Aycock said The Filling Station was a blessing to those in Pollocksville and surrounding areas during a rough time.

“Last year, we were celebrating the 1-year anniversary before Hurricane Florence hit,” Aycock said. “They opened their doors and although they didn’t have electricity for the first few days, they were providing food and supplies. The volunteers have come out to work, and they’ve been doing things better than ever.”

Jones County Commissioner Charlie Dunn shared similar sentiments.

“The storm pretty much wiped out everything in the area, but they served everyone who came seeking assistance,” Dunn said. “This celebration is to celebrate the volunteers and show appreciation to everyone who took part in helping out.”

Miss North Carolina, Alexandra Badgett, spoke at the celebration and said she appreciated the resolve of the community.

“It’s been a blessing to be here at The Filling Station,” Badgett said. “I’ve been able to come to Pollocksville plenty of times, but when I officially came as Miss Jacksonville (it) was the first time I was able to get the tour of the community and really saw the unimaginable damages and things they’ve suffered through because of Hurricane Florence.

“It’s been so great to see this community come together as one, to rebuild and grow — not only to get back to where they were, but to be stronger. It’s been quite an honor to be here and I will be excited to see throughout my journey as Miss North Carolina this community continue to grow together.”

Dr. Norma Sermon-Boyd, the former superintendent of Jones County, introduced Badgett — her goddaughter.

“We’re excited to have Miss North Carolina, Alexandra Badgett, here at The Filling Station,” Sermon-Boyd said. “She’s been to Pollocksville several times and when I presented her the opportunity to come and be with us, she accepted willingly and excitedly.”

Overall, LeRay said the organization wants to keep growing to service the needs of Jones County.

“We’re going to continue to expand the food pantry and make sure everyone that is hungry is taken care of,” LeRay said. “We’re also working on a community garden on the back part of the premises and continue to increase our tutoring program. We also want to increase partnerships online with those in line with our mission of education, nutrition and connecting people to services.”