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Witherspoon family has music on their minds
By Sarah A. Wise
NL Staff Writer
6 September 2007 — For Connie Witherspoon, the chance to work for the Town of Pikeville was an example of the right job coming at the right time.
Connie, who serves as the assistant to the town clerk in Pikeville, said she wasn’t specifically looking for a job with a municipality.
“I was looking for a job, and I knew that I wanted some kind of office-oriented work,” she said.
After the departure of Town Administrator Bob Buchanan in May, Kathie Fields, the town’s clerk, was overloaded with work and looking for someone to help her out. Connie said she heard about the opening from a friend, and came down to Town Hall to see what it was all about.
“I came in and talked with Kathie,” she said. “They really needed the help, and they told me to come right on in.”
And come on in she did. In the few short months Connie has been with the town, she has become like one of the family to many in town. Between working with customers who come in to pay bills and providing a friendly voice on the other end of the phone lines, Connie said she’s grown to like and appreciate the town of Pikeville.
“There’s a lot of camaraderie here, especially around the office,” she said. “When you’re working together to get a job done, it helps a lot to have that kind of bond.”
Though she works for the town, Connie and her family actually live in Goldsboro. She moved to the area in 1992, and has called Wayne County home ever since.
“After my husband and I got married, we were attending a church we really liked in Goldsboro, so we moved right up here,” she said.
Connie and her husband Marvin have six children that round out their family. The oldest, Charmain, is 21 and in college, but the younger five live at home. Julius, who is the only boy, is 13 years old. Following Julius are 12-year-old twins Felycia and Alycia. The youngest are Christa, who is 11, and Shekina, who will be 10 in October.
Before she began working full-time in Pikeville, Connie was a substitute teacher for Wayne County Public Schools. Although she substituted in a variety of classrooms, Connie said her preference was to substitute for music teachers.
Music seems to be one of the anchors of Connie’s life. She said she enjoys singing, and her husband sings as well. But possibly the most musically-inclined members of her family are her children, who have their own singing group.
A few years ago, Connie said, she and her family were temporarily living in Dover with her in-laws, after a flood damaged their home in Mar-Mac. She said that her children had never really been verbal about an interest in singing, so she never thought much of it.
But one day, Connie and her husband were sitting around the house, and they heard singing coming from the back of the house.
“Those kids were singing,” she said. “Not just singing, I mean they were singing in harmony with each other. I didn’t know where they had learned that. It was just amazing.”
Soon after, the five youngest children formed a gospel group of their own, called Purposed by Design.
Much of Connie’s spare time is spent on the road with the children as they sing around the state, and sometimes around the country. Last year, she said, the group competed in a national competition, where they were named number 70 out of 300 competitors.
“It’s a gift to experience that, especially at their age,” she said.
In addition to their extensive travels, Connie said the kids are also working on recording their first CD.
When she’s not traveling with her kids, Connie likes to write poetry and songs, and said she enjoys watching sports as well.
In a few weeks, Connie will be switching over to a part-time assistant position at Town Hall, working when Kathie needs her help. She intends to home-school her five children who are still at home.
Though she won’t be in the town hall every day to greet visitors and citizens of the town, Connie knows she’ll still be interacting often with the people of Pikeville. Working with people is one of her favorite aspects of the job.
“I like just being able to meet people, talk with them, hear a little bit about them,” she said.
Connie enjoys her work so much that she said she can’t really tell you what her favorite part is. “I love everything,” she said.
Though she’s looking forward to being with her children more, Connie is glad she will still be around the Pikeville office too.
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Issue of 6 September 2007 Headlines Witherspoon family has music on their minds Pikeville's new town hall plan hits another setback End in sight for Eureka's sewer bill woes Pikeville citizens, town asks how fire department spends their money Craftmatic telemarketers to stop harassing NC Missed phone tax refund? There's still time Pigskin Pickin' goes into tiebreaker first week Football: Falcons pursue Rams into triple overtime JV Football: Falcons take down Greene Central Volleyball: Lady Falcons triumph over Greene Central Tennis: Fike ends Lady Falcons' winning streak WCC to hold Constitution Day voter drive
Wayne Wilson News Leader Princeton News Leader |
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