Dr. George B. Jackson, chairman, said that the award is given to unsung heroes who promote social action.
“They have worked on behalf of the underserved in the community for many years, volunteering their time and their talent,” Jackson said. “They don’t look for the limelight, but they’re always looking out for the good of other people.”
Minnie Ray, or “Miss Minnie,” said she was honored to receive the award.
“It’s a blessing,” Ray said. “All my grandchildren and all the kids that I’ve helped, they’re so excited for me.”
When one of her sons, Gregory, died 14 years ago, she raised three of his five children along with her own five children. Ray also has taken in and raised several children over the last 40 years who have been victims of neglect or abuse.
“I pray to God every day to help me to bless somebody — a child or a senior,” Ray said. “I just have a heart for children and for people that need help.”
Ray, who is nearly 70 years old, says she loves to cook. She often gives meals to elderly or ill members of the community, and she invites any friend or family member to come eat in her kitchen.
“My grandchildren, my grandchildren’s friends, any senior or any friend — anybody can come to my house and eat,” Ray said. “I probably have about 20 or 30 kids on Thanksgiving.”
Ray says that she sometimes drives people to register to vote and then to the polls on election day. She also tries to make sure that those less fortunate than her have enough to eat and something to wear.
“She’s a very humble woman, and she does not care about a person’s status or their race or their connections,” Jackson said.
For many years, Ray delivered Thanksgiving baskets full of food to the elderly. She has been active in working to keep adequate funding for Thomasville City Schools. At her church, she is vice president of the kitchen committee, president of the Pastor’s Aide group, a helper with the youth and an avid fund raiser.
“So many times, as a pastor, you have to beg folks to help,” Jackson said. “That’s not the case with Miss Ray. She has prepared meals out of her kitchen for truckloads of people, and the proceeds have gone to help her church.”
Pastor Haywood N. Goode Sr. is a native of DeFuniak Springs, Fla, and he and his family relocated to Greensboro in 1970. He retired from Flowers Baking Company after 40 years of service.
“I feel very good that [MLK-SAC has] considered me for such a prestigious award,” Goode said. “I’m very humbled.”
He has served as pastor of the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Thomasville since November of 1985. He is former moderator of the Rising Star Missionary Baptist Association, and he has served as chaplain for Thomasville General and High Point Regional Hospitals. In addition, Jackson said, he has participated in numerous NAACP functions and has opened his church doors for several organizations.
“His congregation will attest to fact that he’s an unselfish, very loving, giving man,” Jackson said. “He seeks the common good, and he’s concerned about social action.”
Throughout Thomasville and neighboring communities, he often visits with the ill and bereaved, whether they are his parishioners or not.
“I’ve done what I could do to help those that were underprivileged,” Goode said. “I have tried to help those that couldn’t pay light bills on many occasions, for instance.”
Goode said that he has been an active citizen of Thomasville, the city he loves, for 25 years. He works closely with the mayor, the police department, schools and churches to improve the community.
“I’ve done the very best I could to make Thomasville a better place in which everybody could live,” Goode said.
Goode has been a mentor to many religious leaders in the area, Jackson said.
“There are a lot of people doing good things in the Triad area who, if they could look back in their history, they would all point back to Haywood Goode,” Jackson said. “Many pastors throughout the Triad region have come out from under his ministry.”
The reverend was quick to point out that his legacy in the community is not just his own.
“I’ve had all kinds of help from other people and ministers,” Goode said. “I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”
At 81 years old, Goode has one brother, one sister-in-law, six children, 20 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren. His life-long partner was the late Henrietta Goode, who worked diligently with him in the ministry, and they enjoyed 52 years of marriage until her death in January 1999.
Staff Writer Karissa Minn can be reached at 888-3576 or newsdesk@tvilletimes.com.
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