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L-R: Ivan Canada, NCCJ executive director; Kristina Schwartz, NCCJ board chairperson; Donna Newton, Citation Award Dinner co-chair; Dr. Nido Qubein, award recipient and president of High Point University; Bob Newton, Citation Award Dinner co-chair; Jim Morgan past Citation Award recipient and NCCJ Board member; the Honorable Lawrence McSwain, award recipient and retired Guilford County District Court Judge; and the Honorable Patrice Hinnant, retired Guilford Co. Superior Court Judge. Thousands came out to celebrate the community’s commitment to diversity and inclusion with the NCCJ (National Conference for Community and Justice) 53rd Annual Brotherhood/Sisterhood Citation Award Dinner on Wednesday, November 13 at the Koury Convention Center.
Each year, the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Citation Award Dinner convenes more than 1,000 local business and community leaders to honor two local leaders for their extraordinary efforts toward creating a more just and compassionate community. The 2019 Citation Award honorees were the Honorable Lawrence McSwain, retired Guilford County District Court Judge and Dr. Nido Qubein, president of High Point University.
Judge McSwain joined the Guilford County District Attorney’s office in 1979 and in 1986 was the first African American District Court Judge in the 18th District of Guilford County. He retired from the District Court in 2008, but still serves as an Emergency District Court Judge as called upon. He has remained active in the community by mentoring at-risk young men through programs he established at Western High School and The Academy at Smith.
Dr. Qubein has served as the president of High Point University since 2005 and has led multiple campaigns to increase the cultural and educational benefits of the university. In 2019, he donated more than $1.3 million to support Bennett College’s fundraising campaign. Under his leadership, the diversity of HPU’s faculty and student body has increased dramatically and he created the Bonner Leader Program, comprised of more than 40 low-income student leaders.
NCCJ is a human relations organization that promotes understanding and respect among all cultures, races and religions through advocacy, education and dialogue. Through their ANYTOWN youth program and various community initiatives, NCCJ works to build compassionate communities free of bias, bigotry and racism.
The annual dinner is the organization’s biggest fundraiser, raising more than $70,000 and counting during the event.
Carolina Peacemaker served as a 2019 title sponsor, along with Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, Koury Corporation, News & Record, Replacements, Ltd., Cone Health and The Joseph Bryan Foundation of Greater Greensboro.
To learn more about NCCJ’s programming and to make an end-of-year donation, visit: nccjtriad.org.
