Senator Joyce Waddell received the Public Citizen of the Year Award. (Photo by Troy Hull)CHARLOTTE — People who have made major contributions to the Charlotte area community were honored June 22 at the second annual Knights of Peter Claver Awards Gala, organized by the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary.
Based at Our Lady of Consolation Parish, the Knights of Peter Claver Council 411 and Ladies Auxiliary Council 411 are a Black fraternal order in the Diocese of Charlotte that focuses on education, charitable work and civic participation.
Through their annual gala, the Knights of Peter Claver shine a spotlight on people making a difference in the Charlotte community – exemplifying the values of innovation, sustainability, influence, community and resilience.
About 50 people attended the event that featured food from local caterers and music by Charlotte-based jazz group Willie Walker and Conversation Piece.
Patrick Graham was named Trailblazer of the Year for his work as CEO of WeBuild Concord, an affordable housing developer in Cabarrus County. Graham also developed the Career4All strategy to help diversify workforce development and is co-creator of the Bank of the Urban League of Central Carolina, which has provided more than $7 million to fund minority-owned businesses.
North Carolina Senator Joyce Waddell, who represents District 40, was named Public Citizen of the Year. She worked for three decades in education, including 21 years as a teacher and administrator in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
The Community Impact Award went to Gerald Johnson, publisher and CEO of the Charlotte Post, a leading news source for Charlotte’s African-American community for more than 50 years.
Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer B. Merriweather III received the Law Enforcement Award for Courage. Merriweather, a Catholic, said the award was a welcome reminder of how important his faith is in his daily work.
“It’s extremely meaningful to know that folks who promote friendship, unity and Christian charity would think enough of me to honor me in this way,” Merriweather said. “We are called as Catholics to understand that every single person is created in God’s image, and I take this award as a reminder to always center on the humanity and dignity of the public I serve.”
The Award of Leadership, Medical Ethics and Professionalism was given to Dr. Jerome M. Butler Jr., oncology service line director for Caromont Health in Gastonia and Lincolnton. He oversees medical oncology, radiation oncology and surgical oncology as well as pulmonary, GI and pathology medicine through his work at Caromont.
The Charlotte Entrepreneur of the Year Award went to area restaurateur Michael Rhynes and his family. They own Mr. Charles Chicken and Fish, a soul food restaurant with three locations around the city.
This was the second gala for the Charlotte chapter of the Knights of Peter Claver, which was inaugurated in the Charlotte diocese in 2023. The fraternal order was founded in 1909 by four Josephite priests and three laymen from the Diocese of Mobile, Ala., who wanted to form a Catholic fraternal order for the African American community because the Church’s other orders at the time did not accept Black members. It expanded in 1926 to include a Ladies Auxiliary.
Named for a 17th-century Spanish Jesuit priest who ministered to enslaved people, the New Orleans-based order now has more than 400 chapters in the U.S. and one in Colombia. One other North Carolina chapter is located in the Diocese of Raleigh.
To learn more about Knights of Peter Claver, visit www.kopcolc.com.
— Christina Lee Knauss. Photos by Troy Hull.
