185 attend COA Foundation's Pork and Pearls

WINFALL — More than 180 supporters of the College of The Albemarle Foundation gathered at The Crawfish Shack in Winfall Saturday for an evening of food, music and conversation.

Attendees of the foundation’s Pork and Pearls event dined on barbecue and oysters and enjoyed music by the Daniel Jordan Band. They also got a chance to help the foundation raise money for COA to use on everything from student scholarships and capital projects to new technology and staff development.

Heather Williams and her husband, Chris, were among those enjoying the event despite the late-summer humidity.

"Good food, great atmosphere, great location," Heather said, referring to The Crawfish Shack, a popular venue located off Swing Gate Road that also was the site of last year’s first Pork and Pearls event. 

A nurse at Vidant Chowan Hospital in Edenton, Heather is a 2000 alumna of COA who also holds a master’s degree from East Carolina University. She said she decided to attend the Pork and Pearls event "because some of my co-workers from Vidant Hospital and other COA alumni are here."

Heather said she had been to The Crawfish Shack once before to attend a wedding. "It's visually appealing," she said.

Chris, who works as a mechanic at the Nucor steel plant in Cofield, said Saturday afternoon’s humidity didn’t bother him.

"Right here, it feels like air conditioning," he quipped, noting he’s used to intense heat working at a steel-making plant.

The Williamses said they liked Pork and Pearl’s casual atmosphere.

“I mean, you don't want to dress up. You come to relax — and it feels good,” Chris said.

The COA Foundation has held fundraisers for eight years, the first six of which were black-tie events.

COA Trustee Doug Gardner said he missed last year’s fundraiser, ending what had been a perfect attendance record. He, too, was impressed with the event’s new venue.

Despite living the area for 40 years, "I had no idea this existed here," he said, referring to The Crawfish Shack.

"There's a lot of new faces here, too," he said of Pork and Pearl’s attendees.

Gardner also was enjoying the more informal atmosphere.

"I'm glad I'm not in a tuxedo when it's 89 degrees out, even though fall begins tonight," he said.

Robin Harris, dean of health sciences and wellness programs at COA, has attended past foundation fundraisers but said she, too, likes Pork and Pearls’ more informal atmosphere. While she arrived wearing pearls, she was also decked out in an untucked dark-blue polo shirt, khaki shorts and dark-blue slip-on boat shoes.

"I like these better myself," she said. "Not that the others weren't fun, too, but this is a little more my style."

Harris said she enjoys attending the foundation’s fundraisers because it gives her a chance to meet people who support COA. She also enjoys the chance to catch up with colleagues in the health sciences.

"I think it makes an atmosphere of relaxation and good conversation and communication with people, where you can be thankful for the relationships that you have — and just enjoy that camaraderie in a relaxed atmosphere," she said.

Harris said she also appreciates the work of the foundation, particularly its work providing scholarship funds. 

"When I have a student who's in need, that we see is in trouble because of financial issues or issues that are causing them financial stress, I can always go to our foundation and our scholarships area,” she said.

She noted she has never not gotten financial help for a student.

“I think that's one of the most remarkable things about COA, is how we have that support system when we need it,” she said. “Even in emergencies, we've always been able to find some kind of way to give them some help."

Bonnye Hart, the COA Foundation’s executive director, said the turnout for Saturday’s Pork and Pearls “really personifies everything we believe in about the foundation’s mission.”

“We know that we are such an integral part of our seven-county service area to get everyone access to education, whether you're a high school student or whether you're up-skilling or re-skilling,” Hart said. “No matter where you are in your educational career in your journey, we want to help you transform your tomorrow. And this is how you do it, with the support from all our community.”

COA officials didn’t immediately have details Sunday about how much money the Pork and Pearls event raised.